#Content Syndication Agency | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

xunolic · 8 months ago

Text

only time will tell pt.2 (l.sy)

pairing: sangyeon x blackfem!reader (more race neutral) | wc: 22.6k (for this part)

au(s): secret agents, exes/enemies to lovers | genre: action, angst, smut, rom-comish

summary: after a year and a half, you finally heard the name you didn't want to be mentioned again. lee sangyeon. now more than ever, however, it's a must for agents to stick together due to a list of hits from the resurgence of korea’s more dangerous syndicates.

warnings: lowercase intended. explicit language, mdni!! explicit sexual content, mainly plot filled, descriptions of violence/blood, mentions of alcohol, minor character death, arguments. let me know if any was missed!

part one (not my favorite)

a/n: hi! i'm back! tumblr is ass so there will be a continuation instead of it all being on one post! reminder, none of the characters reflect on them as an actual people as they are merely characters. the reader is technically race neutral as i didn't give any character features or physicality. also, i will say, read part one but this one is way better than the first one. i actually hate the first one, but it does show how i have grown as a writer. reblogs are highly appreciated! happy reading!

‘here we go again,’ you thought to yourself as you situated yourself beside jacob. it was the one night yz agency had to get along with everyone else. so there you sat, dress clinging to your body and stomach growling.

jacob heard it, laughing under his breath as he dug into his blazer pocket and pulled out a piece of candy. he looked over, handed it to you, and smiled as you popped the candy in your mouth.

“this fucking thing is taking forever,” you groaned, almost forgetting the dress you had on as you slumped in your seat. jacob nodded in agreement, leaning forward, his head hitting the table.

“how hard is it for someone to go on stage and talk? hell, i could even do it. i might do it…” jacob said, turning his head to look at you. you gave him a smile, patting his head.

“you sure could, buddy, do it.”

you pointed at the stage, wiggling your finger slightly so he could continue. jacob was about to say something, but eric came to sit beside the two of you. he plopped down in the seat, almost out of breath. your eyes shot to him, eyebrow-raising in confusion.

“how late am i?” he asked, trying to catch his breath. you looked at jacob, and a similar mischievous smirk was on his face.

“you missed it. dinner is over with," jacob said, shrugging his shoulders.

eric looked at him, eyes widening. “dinner’s over?” he whisper-yelled, almost in a panic. “i didn't eat all day.”

you were about to say something until your stomach rumbled. eric heard it loud and clear, squinting his eyes in your direction. “you fucking liars.”

you pouted, looking down at your stomach, and then at jacob. “what a buzzkill…”

you and jacob both heard your names as younghoon approached. younghoon didn't spare eric a glance as he asked the two of you, “how is tonight going?”

“where's the food? i came strictly for the food,” you said, crossing your arms over your chest.

“one of cre.ker’s bigger agents is late, and their boss stepped out, so we can't start until their ceo returns, and we're all settled. typical cre.ker though, always running on their time, never considerate for anyone else,” younghoon said, crossing his arms as he looked at the other ceo’s. “note how everyone is here except them.”

younghoon finally gave eric a stare and scoffed before walking away from the table.

“what did i do?” eric asked as he looked at you. you shook your head, fixing a strand of hair on his head.

“nothing, he's just the biggest cre.ker anti.”

claps were heard around the place as you brought your hand down from his head. you instinctively clapped along, looking at jacob as he nodded to the stage. you looked over, seeing it finally beginning. you almost cheered, knowing that the food portion was growing closer.

or so you thought… it felt as if speeches about the same damn thing continued to drag on. eric was close to falling asleep, and jacob was rubbing his eyes, trying to stay awake. it wasn't until it was cre.ker’s ceo's turn to speak. as he spoke, you felt yourself nodding off; that was until you heard a name you thought you didn't have to hear again.

lee sangyeon.

you remembered telling eric you didn't want to hear that name until your heart was ready, and eric obliged. it had been a year since you'd even said a thing about sangyeon, the thought of sangyeon, or even heard that name.

jacob and eric turned to you with wide eyes, jacob looking at you with more worry than anything. you mouthed that you were okay as you all turned to look at sangyeon's table. he waved to people, and the lady beside him shook his free hand, obviously proud of him.

you didn't hear exactly what he was mentioned for, but you listened to everyone clap as you stared at him. you couldn't take your eyes off of him. it seemed he’d gotten larger if that button-up was one to decide. his smile was as bright as you'd ever seen it, and his eyes– his eyes were on you. you jolted a little bit in shock, noticing his gaze as you quickly turned back around. you felt butterflies creep into your stomach, trying to keep them down as cre.ker’s ceo finally finished his speech.

the host of the banquet finally confirmed that the food would be served. each person chose the menu beforehand, as the servers came out with it; you couldn't have been happier. as you ate, you continued talking to the people around you, trying to wash down the gaze sangyeon had sent you. it wasn't long until the feeling was back as you heard a voice you didn't want to hear.

“hey eric, hey jacob,” you heard sangyeon say behind you. eric turned and smiled, waving before getting back to his meal. you didn't turn around, jacob instead turned and waved at his hyung, standing to give a hug. you kept your eyes on your food, hearing jacob and sangyeon spark a conversation. sangyeon introduced the lady he came with to jacob, her voice ringing out after his to introduce herself. “it really has been a while, hasn't it? a year, right?”

“yeah! oh wow, it's been so long," jacob exclaimed, sitting back in his seat. he stayed turned around, sending quick peeks to you. you glanced at both jacob and eric, excusing yourself from the table before brushing past sangyeon with your clutch.

you felt eyes on you as you walked to the bathroom. however, you didn't notice your boss's lingering stare as he narrowed his eyes at your dismissal.

you thought you were over him, you thought you did the right thing, but as they've said before, distance does make the heart grow fonder. it was almost like your mind forgot you'd called things off with him—you had broken up with him.

things should've gotten easier with time, but you don't think you could come to terms with that sort of thing right now. as you stood in that bathroom, feelings bubbling in your chest, you had to remind yourself why you did it.

“my career is important to me. this is my passion…” you spoke to yourself in the mirror, calming yourself down. you closed your eyes and took a deep breath, the exhale shakier than the inhale. you glanced at yourself in the mirror again, looking behind you and jumping a little. “jacob, what the hell?”

“what? i came to check on you. you’ve been gone for like ten minutes… you alright?”

“yeah, i’m fine.” you tried your hardest to sound convincing, but it came out in a timid whisper. jacob walked over to you, pulling you into a hug. “jacob, i thought i was over him… i could've sworn i was.”

“you saw him for the first time in a year. i don't expect you to forget how you felt, especially how you two broke up. i’d be hurting, too.”

“but it shouldn't make me feel like this, though, i broke up with him.” jacob pulled away from the hug, pulling the handkerchief from his pocket, patting the tears from your eyes, hoping not to ruin your makeup.

“it doesn't matter; you liked him a lot, right? that was rhetorical because literally everyone could tell,” he joked. “it was an unjust breakup, so you have the right to feel the way you do.”

as jacob pulled you back into a hug, a lady gasped in the background at jacob’s presence.

jacob turned around, shamelessly shooing the lady away, “can't you see i’m comforting my best friend?”

that pulled a laugh out of you that jacob grinned at.

little did either of you know, sangyeon had dismissed himself for a bit, sighing into the frigid air. eric sat beside him, patting his shoulder, a smile on his face.

“what's up?” eric asked, leaning back on his hands.

“i knew she’d be here, and i still feel sick to my stomach looking at her,” sangyeon confessed, rubbing his face with his palm.

eric let out a humorless laugh, looking up at the sky, “you have more to say; i know you do.”

“nothing i can say that'll be worth it, especially if i’m not talking to her.”

“do you still like her?”

“no.” he lied.

“oh? so you don't want to talk to her?”

“i don't know what i want, eric. all i know is i can't stand to look at her but can't keep my eyes off her.”

all eric could do was nod; the younger wasn’t the finest with words, especially since he had often been around you and sangyeon. the best he could do was sit and be some company. the two sat in a comfortable silence, staring into the night sky before eric's stomach growled again. eric's gaze shot to sangyeon, then to his stomach.

“i saw a dessert buffet in there. wanna go?” sangyeon chuckled, standing up and brushing himself off.

“please.”

sangyeon pulled eric up by his arm as he nodded towards the door. eric walked inside, leaving sangyeon, once again, with his thoughts for longer than he'd like. sangyeon let out a huff of breath before walking in a few minutes after eric had.

eric was the first one at the dessert bar, filling his plate up and whistling as he picked up his last pastry. he walked by the entrance as you and jacob returned from the bathroom. eric tilted his head, confused, “you were in the girl’s bathroom?”

“i’m gonna tell you like i told that lady in the bathroom, i was comforting her,” jacob said, snatching a mini cheesecake from eric’s plate and going to sit back down. you giggled, walking over to the dessert buffet, reaching for a plate, a hand coming down simultaneously to yours.

“oh, i’m sorry, i–" you began apologizing, stopping as you saw who it was. you both stood there, breathlessly gazing into each other's eyes. your heart felt like it was beating 10,000 times per second. you felt like you couldn't move, and the wave of emotion pooling from his eyes was unbearably hard to read. you wondered what yours looked like from his perspective.

“hi,” he hushed out.

you couldn't respond as you grabbed the plate and moved from him. the feelings threatened to spill over again, but you had to keep your composure. you filled your plate up silently, sending sangyeon one last look before starting your way back to the table.

you looked to your side and saw younghoon staring at you. he had to have seen the little interaction between you two because he didn't look too pleased. or did he?

you went back to the table, hearing everyone talk around you, some even getting up to dance a bit. eric was busy scarfing down his food to notice you'd come back. jacob reached over, stealing one of your mini cupcakes and stuffing it in his mouth before you could say anything to him.

“jacob… just go get your own dessert!”

“too much work,” jacob waved you off with his mouth full as he nodded towards the bar. “do you guys want a drink?”

“oh, so getting a drink isn't too much work?” you asked him.

he waved you off again, pointing at the bar, and you gave in.

and, oh, a drink you got. however, that one drink turned into many for you, and you had to be carried out to the car by jacob. eric acted as jacob's spotter, following loosely behind him as jacob stuffed you in the car. you mumbled something as younghoon came out afterward.

“is she alright?” younghoon asked as you pouted in the backseat. you reached for your seatbelt, struggling with it before trying your hardest to stab it into the buckle. jacob reached over, buckling it in for you before turning to his boss.

“well, if being drunk is alright? yes, she's fine,” jacob said, fixing your posture.

“he touched my hand,” you slurred out, holding up the hand sangyeon touched with a drunken smile. “i know he misses me.”

eric and jacob looked at each other for the second time that night as jacob nodded at you, “i'm happy for you, y/n, i think?”

eric chuckled, walked over, and patted your head gently, saying a quick goodbye to you and jacob. he bowed at younghoon and walked back into the building, fortunately not catching the scowl younghoon sent his way. younghoon turned back to you, arms crossed.

“i hope she isn't shitfaced tomorrow, she has a mission.”

“she does? i thought she called off yesterday?” jacob questioned.

“i don't recall.”

“i do. i was in the meeting with you two when she told you.”

“oh, well, i don't remember.”

“can't you just, i don't know, send someone else?” jacob asked, shutting your door.

“chaeyeon and sunwoo haven't had a mission in weeks. she's been on damn near every single mission for the past year, give her a break.”

younghoon looked at you through the car window before looking back at jacob, “the mission’s at 12 tomorrow. tell her to be up and ready. i'll send you the details later on.”

and with that, he left back inside.

jacob let out a deep groan, walking to the driver's side, getting in, and looking at you in the rearview mirror. he saw your slouched figure, sighing as he revved up the van and started to drive. as jacob drove, he couldn't help but hear little sniffles from you. once at a stop light, he turned around and looked at you, a frown on his face.

“i hate him. i fucking hate him,” you mumbled, tears slowly pooling down your face. jacob could only assume you meant sangyeon, but you'd heard everything younghoon had said before you left. younghoon had seen the interaction, and you felt younghoon was doing whatever he did to you out of spite.

your head was raging as your phone rang. you grabbed the device seeing jacob’s name, groaning before answering it. “what?”

“you got a mission; get up.”

“i know… but i don't feel like it.”

“dude, do you want both of us fired?”

kinda. “no.”

“then come on, i'm outside, i'll wait for you.”

you hung up the phone without saying another word as you dragged yourself out of bed. you went into the bathroom, threw clothes on with a groan, and held yourself up by the edge of the counter. you mumbled curses as you dug through your medicine cabinet to find some aspirin to take. you shook the borderline empty bottle, opening it as fast as your hungover body could. as you tapped out the medicine, only one pill came out, another loud groan that made your head ring.

“fuck,” you mumbled, taking the pill in your hand before hearing your phone ring again. you walked over, silencing the phone before grabbing some sunglasses, your phone, and a water bottle. you locked up your apartment, almost tripping down the complex stairs, making it to jacob's car in one piece.

“morning, sunshine,” jacob beamed as he watched you put the glasses on and get into the vehicle.

“shut the hell up before i beat your ass.”

“woah? can't even talk with my amazing friend this beautiful sunday morning?”

“please, just drive.”

jacob threw his hands up and pulled out of the parking lot.

you popped the pill, chugging the bottle of water before throwing it to your feet.

“and now you're littering in my car? what are you? some type of heathen?”

you kept your eyes closed, a slight smirk gracing your face.

as jacob pulled up to the back of the site where you were supposed to be working, he couldn’t help but notice a familiar face in a car pulling beside him.

“oh no…” he mumbled.

“what?”

“don't look now, but…”

“but what, jacob?” throughout the drive, yes, your head had gotten a bit better, but not enough for jacob and his games.

“a certain, uhm,” he continued, only moving his hands to enunciate.

“jacob, my head already hurts, i don't need any of your ridd–"

you couldn't finish your sentence because as soon as you looked at jacob's way, someone had stepped out of the car beside jacob’s. if your head was getting any better, no, it wasn't.

lee sangyeon.

you almost barfed, shaking your head as you blinked a few times to wisp him away as he walked to the front of his car, but to no avail. he was still there.

he turned around, his eyes catching your concealed ones through the windshield. your breath got caught in your lungs as you shook your head again, this time trying to convince jacob you couldn't do this.

“why.. why is he here?” you asked yourself. jacob looked at you, patting your shoulder as he tried to tell you that you had to do what you had to do. you frowned before taking a deep breath.

you stepped out of the car, eyes widening as you felt around your person. you bent down to look at jacob, who was still in the car, “my holster.”

“you forgot it?!”

“you know i'm hungover. i could've sworn i took it from my room.”

you were too in a panic to realize sangyeon had walked over to you, “i have an extra.”

you jumped, gripping your chest as your glasses fell to the bridge of your nose. the little sunlight that did peep through made you squint in pain. you pushed up the glasses, looked at sangyeon, and shook your head.

“can't take–"

“she’ll take it, hyung.”

your focus shot back to jacob as he shrugged, looking towards his monitor, “you both better go; you have 20 minutes until the man of the hour comes. i'm still not sure what this mission is actually…”

“you don't?!” you whisper-yelled, bending down again.

“bomb threat,” sangyeon said, his arms crossed.

“bomb threat?!” both you and jacob yelled.

“i'm not the bomb girl. i had one class on that, and i didn't pay any attention to it. fuck!” you groaned, your head starting to ache again.

“calm down, i know how to disarm a bomb.”

you looked at him, unable to look long because, of course, you couldn’t look at him. you sighed softly, taking the spare earpiece jacob had before telling jacob to wish you luck as you began to walk towards the building. you didn't wait for sangyeon but heard him yell wait. he rushed beside you, holding up the utility belt and handing it to you.

“here.”

you took the belt, standing before the door as you buckled it around your waist. sangyeon opened the door, holding it with his foot as you walked in without saying anything to him. sangyeon sighed softly, sucking his teeth before letting the door shut behind him.

“so.. what's the plan?” he asked, looking around the supposed storage room you were slightly cramped in.

you shrugged, put in your earpiece, and tested it out. you heard jacob speak back as you nodded to yourself. the shades you had on did no justice for the dark room you both were in. sangyeon asked you again what the plan was. however, you trudged through the storage room, trying your hardest not to trip.

too late.

obviously, you couldn't see the box in front of you and couldn't catch your footing in time. just to your luck, sangyeon’s quick thinking and his ability to see caught you before you hit the ground. as he pulled you up, you felt your back come flush to his chest. you smelled his cologne, felt the way he froze, and it took all your might to move away from him.

“thank you,” you mumbled, stepping over the box as you finally reached the door.

sangyeon held it shut as he looked down at you (you assumed). you squeezed your eyes closed, “what is it?”

“we need a plan. i don't know what you and eric have been doing the past year, but you know that's not how you and i did–"

“when jacob gives me the signal, you go for the bomb, i'll go for the man. simple.”

“jacob didn't even know what the mission was; how would he know what the man looks like? how do you even know its a man? i'll just ask miyeon–"

“is miyeon the lady you were with at the banquet last night?” you asked before you could stop yourself.

“why does it matter?” he asked, pressing a finger to his ear, beginning to speak to the woman. “hey miyeon, how far is our target?”

you waited for him to respond, still looking at the closed door. you heard jacob in your ear saying you had 15 minutes before you decided to look up at what you believed was sangyeon.

“jacob said we have–“

“15 minutes.” you both said simultaneously.

“and you said jacob doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” you mumbled under your breath.

“what was that?”

“nothing… can we get out of this mess now?”

“there should be a blazer up near the front desk so you can disguise yourself, and for the love of god, take those glasses off,” he said, opening the door. “is your number the same?”

you raised a brow, looking at him with confusion.

“so i can contact you just in case anything goes wrong.”

“yeah… it’s the same, but why would anything go wrong? you said you knew how to disarm a bomb, right?”

“doesn’t mean there won’t be any problems. you should know about problems, right agent l/n?” he shrugged, walking out of the room.

you stared at him in disbelief, scoffed, and walked out behind him. you made your way to the front of the building, sangyeon walking away from you, leaving you to your own devices. “where the fuck is eric…” you mumbled to yourself as you picked up the blazer, slipped it on, and sat at the desk beside another receptionist.

“y/n, when the target passes you, i need you to start escorting people out of the building, just in case,” jacob said in your ear.

“how big is this place?” you asked, looking around to keep your eyes on anyone who left and came in.

“six stories.”

“six? got it…”

“he’s here.”

you nodded, not responding, as you watched not a man come in but a woman with a large bag. your eyebrow lifted as you looked at the woman. she was short, with hair in a loose bun and evident bags underneath her eyes. her smile when walking in was replaced with a scowl as she looked at the receptionist beside you. her eyes trained not just on her but also on you.

she looked at you both as if you'd done something to hurt her personally. as she reached the desk, she told the receptionist she had booked a specific room, giving her last name and showing her id. once the other receptionist gave her the room key, you were obliged to jokingly ask if all patrons gave her that look when they came in.

“no, she was kind of the first since i’ve been here,” she laughs softly. “but her name sounds very familiar. her name reminds me of someone fired not too long ago,” the receptionist continued.

“have you ever seen the people who were released? or were they gone before you could see them?” you asked, the conversation sparking your curiosity.

“no, not at all. i had seen that name on the “released” list before, i’m pretty sure, but i’ve never seen what she looks like or any of them, honestly.”

you sat there, fiddling with your glasses as your mind returned to what sangyeon had said.

how do you even know its a man?

your mouth fell open as you stood up from your seat, looking over at the receptionist. she looked up at you with wide eyes, her mind seemingly going to where yours was.

“you need to get out of here, and i mean as soon as you can. if anyone is near the front, tell them all to leave the building and go a few blocks down to the park where it's secure,” you picked up your glasses, tucking them in the blazer pocket as she nodded, slightly panicked.

you put your hands on her shoulders, saying, “please, do this calmly and orderly, okay? you will be a big help in keeping everyone safe. deep breath.”

she closed her eyes, sucking in a breath before letting out a shaky one. she stood up, putting on a smile, and began to walk over to anyone she saw. she gave them her best customer service voice, possibly telling them a white lie to get them out as she guided a few families and employees out of the building.

“it’s not a man, jacob,” you said as you phoned him.

“i know now… she's been using her husband's car whenever she went to get her materials for the bomb. her name is sunhee yim. she used to work at this hotel in particular before she got let go.”

everything the receptionist said, you'd had relayed to you by jacob.

once everyone in the lobby was gone, you bent down to look at the computer.

“jacob, hack into this computer for me; see how many rooms are filled so i can get to them as fast as possible,” you said, looking at the monitor.

“got you.”

once jacob was finished, you had him direct you to all of the utility rooms, telling the workers who were in them to leave from the emergency exits.

once they left, you focused on the rooms. out of the six stories, there were 60 rooms filled. you stood back up, listening to jacob list all the booked rooms.

you breathed heavily as you finally reached the 60th room, gripping your knees before knocking. those stairs almost broke you.

the door swung open as an older woman looked at you, her arms crossed, “yes?”

you tried catching your breath as you stood up, showing her your badge. “agent…” pant “l/n…” pant “you need to leave, ma’am…” pant “there are threats for this hotel.”

“leave? i paid good money for this room, i’m not leaving it just because some pesky cop told me to,” she snarked.

“ma’am, this is life or death. you either stay,” pant “and lose your life,” you sucked in a deep breath, “or you come with me and stop being stubborn.”

slam!

she shut the door in your face.

“or blow up! not like i care! it’s only your life you're risking!” you rolled your eyes, about to walk away, when a smaller, more timid voice yelled a quick “wait!”

it turns out she was risking more than her life. you turned around, and a young girl, no older than ten, stepped from the room.

“a-are we really gonna die?” she asked, standing in the doorframe, her hands visibly shaking as she held the stuffed animal that still had a tag on it. you bent down to her level, holding her free hand.

“not if you get your grandmother to leave the building with you.”

as you tried to comfort the little girl, you heard a door open behind you as the woman from before stepped out of her room, a hoodie now on her head as she began to speed walk to the elevators. you saw sangyeon leave a nearby room, nodding at you before slipping into the room she had just left. your eyes widened as you looked at the little girl.

“ma’am, either you come with me and the kid, or if you survive, you get charged with child endangerment for keeping her in a life-or-death situation; the choice is yours,” you yelled into the room as the little girl started to tear up. the old lady looked at you and the child, sighing softly.

“fine.”

you picked up the little girl out of instinct before rushing to get the lady out of the room. the lady stopped by the elevator as you waited for her to step in before rushing down the steps. as you got to the lobby, the lady stepped out of the elevator and walked over to you.

“you both can follow that man right there,” you said, pointing at a door handler as he directed people where to go. “stay with your grandma, okay?” you said, standing her on her feet and patting her head softly.

“i’m her mother.”

you gawked, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as the lady huffed, holding her child's hand before walking out.

you shook yourself out of skepticism as jacob spoke to you.

“yim left the building, and she hasn’t yet made it to her car in the car garage. either that, or she’s just sitting in her vehicle.”

“i’ll go see.”

you walked out the door and down the block to look at the nearby parking garages. the same hoodie from before stood on top of the final one you looked at. she was looking over the hotel, seemingly waiting for it to explode into pieces.

you made sure she didn't see you before making your way up the ramps. “fuck, i’m getting a workout today.”

you finally got to the top, keeping silent as you drew your gun. you sneakily made your way beside her, nodding, “yeah, i can’t wait for it to blow up either.”

the woman jumped at your presence, stepping to the side and pulling out a weapon of her own. she pointed it at you, hands shaking as she stared at you with bloodshot eyes. she had been crying.

you held your hands up, showing her you also had a weapon, “shoot me, and that would be another charge on your record. you’d never get out of prison alive.”

“who said i wanted to be alive?” she yelled at you, tears running down her face.

“because if you didn't, you’d be in that building with the bomb you planted,” you put your hands down, realizing the type of person you were dealing with. you put the gun back into the holster, beginning to walk towards her. “if you truly didn't want to be alive, you'd sit in that room with that bomb and explode into smithereens along with every bedframe, every lamp, every tv, every–"

“shut up!” she shook the gun, threatening you.

“i get it. you lost your job and way of life and wanted revenge. what better way to get revenge than blowing up everything and everyone you believed made you lose what you genuinely loved? am i right?”

“shut. up.”

“you never wanted anything like this to happen, did you? you have a family. loved your family so much that you took your husband’s car so we wouldn't even think it was you or link you to this,” you continued to walk to her.

“i’ll fucking shoot you!”

“do it.”

her hands began shaking even more as your chest made contact with the nose of the gun. you stared into her eyes, glancing down at the gun for a quick moment. you watched her finger move to the trigger, almost pulling it before you moved out of the way.

the bullet went through the car window as you grabbed onto her arm, dragging her to the ground. the gun skidded on the pavement as you held her arms behind her back.

“mrs. yim, i can't charge you. that's the police’s job. regardless, i can tell you that this is now an added attempted murder charge,” you told the woman, who, at this point, was sobbing. you pulled her up as she broke down.

“but i have to give it to you; you did it.”

you walked up to jacob’s car once the cops took over the rest of the situation. jacob rolled down the window as you posed in the blazer you wore.

“cute, right? the receptionist said i could keep it.”

“it’s alright,” sangyeon said, approaching you quietly.

you jumped again, fist balling up, “stop doing that!”

sangyeon chuckled, the butterflies returning at the sound, “you did good back there.”

“thanks,” you mumbled, hands crossed in front of you. “i guess you did pretty good disarming that bomb, too.”

“thanks.”

“but please don’t sneak up on me like that again!”

“okay, okay, i’m sorry. wait, woah… did you hear how easy that was?”

“how easy what was?”

“genuinely apologizing.”

yep, the butterflies were gone.

“fuck you.”

he smirked, “please. if i let you, you would.”

he’s right, but you couldn't let him be as you opened the door to jacob’s car. you slipped the glasses back on your face, telling jacob to drive. jacob didn't drive quick enough because sangyeon leveled himself with your window.

“we’ll have to talk at some point; you have my number.”

jacob let out a soft “oop.” before driving off.

you rolled your eyes, pulled out your phone, and were ready to yell at eric.

you dialed his number, listening to it ring before he picked up.

“hello?”

“you fucker! you know what, next time you're in trouble during any mission, you better be able to save yourself.”

“woah? what did i do?” eric asked, the sound of him sliding a seat out being heard in the background.

“you left me on a mission with lee sangyeon? are you kidding me?”

“what are you talking about? i called off weeks before this.”

you looked over at jacob, one of his eyebrows raising at eric’s statement.

“so, this wasn't your original mission?”

“no.”

“that damn kim younghoon.”

“you had a mission with hyung? how was it?”

“goodbye, eric.”

“wait! i wanted to know how it–"

jacob tapped a finger on the steering wheel once you hung up, “that's weird, right? why would mr. kim put you on a mission with sangyeon hyung if he doesn't even like him?”

this was a test for you. knowing younghoon, he wanted to see your self-restraint. what an asshole.

it was the next day, and you sat in the meeting room. one of your colleagues, sunwoo, sat beside you, and jacob was on the other side. your foot tapped on the floor as all of the other agents sat chatting with each other, jacob talked to kevin in english from across the table, you assumed they forgot you spoke it as well because the gossip they were spreading was definitely only english worthy. none of the other agents knew what they were saying, and the two knew it.

it wasn't until they got to younghoon did they stop, mainly because the boss himself walked in. everyone in the room stood up and bowed at him, except you. younghoon walked to the front of the room, barely acknowledging any of them before his eyes landed on you. you leaned back in your seat, crossing your arms as he told everyone to sit, eyes still trained on yours.

you were a tough cookie to crumble, so he knew you weren't breaking eye contact any time soon. you were pissed, he could see it in your eyes, and it was just the way he wanted you.

he chuckled to himself, setting his folders down on his podium. he grabbed a remote for his slideshow before saying a quick, “good morning.”

jacob whispered to you, “what do you think this is about?”

“don’t know, could care less.”

“first, let's congratulate some of our team members for the job well done they did with the bomb threat yesterday. good work, mr. bae and agent l/n.”

the room clapped for you both, but you kept your eyes trained on the front.

“okay, let's get down to business. the reason i asked you all in here today was that…” he clicked to the next slide, and almost everyone in the room let out a gasp. the air quickly drained from the room as everyone looked at the screen: “targeted agents.”

your eyes widened. you were looking over at jacob, his eyes already on you.

“there's recently been threats sent to many agents across the two agencies here in seoul. someone has managed to hack and learn almost every single agent's name, position, and mission database. so far, we have gotten 10 people from not just here but also cre.ker to report these threats.”

he clicked to the next slide and spoke again: “threats so far have been sent to agent ju haknyeon of cre.ker, ms. lee chaeyeon of yz…”

“that’s why she’s not here…” you heard sunwoo say from beside you. sunwoo was quick to raise his hand and wave it.

“yes, agent kim?”

“chaeyeon was my partner; what do i… what do i do now?”

“well, i was going to get to that after i named all of the targeted people.”

sunwoo nodded, slowly putting his hand down. you pat his shoulder, looking back at the screen as he continued with the names.

“and last but not least on the targeted list, agent lee sangyeon.”

your jaw almost floored. in this situation, the pure mention of your ex’s name picked up your heart.

“oh my gosh…” you heard jacob mumble, his jaw almost on the same level as yours.

“since i’m a civil man, i’ve decided to put my differences with cre.ker aside to get to the bottom of this. if you encounter any sort of threat, please be sure to report it as soon as possible and stay home. both cre.ker’s ceo and i have decided to continue missions but as larger teams.

so, back to agent kim’s point, you will team up with mr. bae and agent l/n until we can track down who’s in charge. for now, we don't know who we can trust in this building, so please don't spread too much information with anyone, don't spend too much time in open spaces alone, and please take care of each other.”

you all nodded as he said that various missions would be given to each team as soon as leads could be made. kevin took all of this in, and since he stayed in the office most of the time, he would be one to keep back and get any leads he could. as the meeting broke off, you and jacob both looked over at sunwoo, with wide grins on both of your faces.

“welcome to the best team here!” jacob beamed.

“you’ll love it with us.”

and he did, not by choice, however.

you took the time to stay together literally because you had an impromptu sleepover at jacob’s place that evening.

“but why'd it have to be at my place?”

“your apartment is bigger than mine,” you said, dropping your bags. sunwoo followed in, looking around as he sat on the couch with his bag. you looked over at sunwoo, motioning for him to drop the bag. he looked at you, hesitantly dropping it. “sunwoo, please. we aren't strangers and we’re good people.”

“i’m good people,” jacob said, walking to the kitchen.

you rolled your eyes, looking at sunwoo, “just relax. jacob, i’m calling eric.”

“why would you tell me?”

“oh, no reason…”

you smirked, sitting beside sunwoo on the couch as you whipped your phone out, dialed eric’s number, and quickly switched it to facetime.

it rang three times before he picked up the phone. “you can't get enough of me. how bad do you miss me?”

“shut up. i'm here with someone, sunwoo say hi.”

sunwoo looked at you, at the phone, and then back to you.

“he’s shy. anyway, we're having a sleepover at jacob’s place–"

“no, we aren't!” jacob yelled from the kitchen.“it's too late for that, jacob! anyway–"

“i can’t come over.”

“oh? why not?”

“i’m–"

“eric, are you hungry or not?” you heard sangyeon’s voice in the background, his face coming into view. you quickly moved the phone back to sunwoo, shaking your head vigorously as sunwoo looked at you confused.

“y/n, i’m with- oh? where did she go?” eric asked. sunwoo looked at you, then went back to eric.

“she…” you tried to motion your finger towards the bathroom, but sunwoo, seemingly on purpose, didn't lie. he took his pointer finger and outstretched it to you, telling eric you were still holding the phone.

you sighed, turning the phone back to you, seeing sangyeon standing behind eric. he looked down at the phone as soon as eric said your name. you looked at sunwoo, glaring as he threw his hands up.

“you’re with sangyeon… i see…”

“hello, y/n.”

that was the first time he’d said your name since you'd seen him, and god, did it sound so good coming from him. you sucked in a breath, “so, why are you with him?”

“the whole threats stuff, i don't know if they talked about it to you guys this morning, but i’m kind of scared, y/n, but not really, you know? it's like…”

eric trailed on, but you couldn't focus on his words anymore. sangyeon was staring at you. how did you know? you noticed a slight glare in his eyes almost instantly. he looked so good, but when did he not. if you weren't in your right mind, you’d probably say something out of pocket for someone who was supposed to be over him.

“oh my gosh, i forgot. you two hate each other! my bad, y/n,” eric exclaimed, turning to look at sangyeon and then back to you.

“i don't hate–" sangyeon began.

“eric, are you drunk?” you asked, cutting off sangyeon.

“i may be a little tipsy. as i was saying, i’m with hyung and–"

“eric, i got extra food since you didn't say anything,” you heard a woman's voice from behind the camera.

“oh, thanks, noona. i was gonna tell you guys i wanted something, but y/n called.”

“who?” she asked, sangyeon letting out a chuckle.

“you know what, eric? i’m gonna let you go. have a good time,” you mumbled, hanging up before he could say anything else. “dammit.”

“who was that?” sunwoo asked, leaning back in his seat, finally getting somewhat comfortable.

“my mission partner from cre.ker.”

“no, i mean, the other guy. the guy you panicked seeing and the guy who was looking at you like he wanted to kill you and kiss you.” how funny.

“hah…”

sunwoo waited patiently, his eyes blinking slowly.

“my ex.”

his mouth formed an ‘o’ as he turned his attention to jacob, who had finally finished in the kitchen with a drink in one hand and his phone in the other. he looked up fake shock on his face.

“oh, you guys are still here.”

to jacob’s demise, you'd forced the sleepover to last four days. on the last day, you three were called to the office.

there you sat, kevin standing in front of the room, waving at all three of you with a smile. before younghoon could come in, he walked over to you all, “be proud of me.”

“no thanks!” you grinned, looking up at him.

“i got leads; you should be proud.”

“i’m proud of you,” sunwoo said in english.

you, jacob, and kevin looked over at sunwoo, shocked, his eyes darting between you three.

“what?”

before you could speak up, younghoon walked in, but not alone. trailing behind him was cre.ker’s ceo and a few people coming in behind him: eric, the woman you've learned to be miyeon, a few unfamiliar faces, and another one of their agents you’ve seen before named hyunjae. eric grinned at you, sitting beside jacob, hitting his shoulder hard.

“ow,” jacob flinched, hitting him back. the two of them almost started to hit each other even more before you stopped them.

“kids, stop,” you joked, looking toward the front as younghoon cleared his throat.

“i have told my agents that i have set aside my differences with cre.ker, today shows that. welcome in cre.ker ceo yoon youngro; he’s going to help us get to the bottom of all of these targets. as you can also see, we are missing a few people, but don’t be alarmed. we have some of our best agents teaming up to complete this.”

“when i call your name,” continued mr. youngro, “you will be on the mission tomorrow, and that will be your team going forward. starting with eric seo, jung miyeon, jacob bae, y/n l/n, kim sunwoo, park jiwon, ji changmin, and last but not least, kevin moon.”

“me?! no, no, no, i don’t do missions!” kevin exclaimed, standing up.

“oh! i read ahead. my apologies mr. moon.”

you covered your mouth, stifling a laugh. jacob, on the other hand, let his laugh go free. kevin mumbled something before sitting back down, shooting a glare toward jacob.

“last on this list is one of my best agents other than lee sangyeon, lee hyunjae.”

before you could laugh at kevin more–he was still glaring at jacob, mouthing curses–you looked over toward the front, raising your hand.

“yes agent l/n?” younghoon asked.

“that is way too many people for one mission,” you say, a few people (sunwoo) nodding.

“as i said, these are heavy missions; we need as many people as we can get. also, suppose one of you goes on the list. in that case, we’ll still have a team of enough people to do the mission,” he responded, allowing mr. yoon to continue with the list of teams that will be together going forward.

as he spoke, you couldn't help but notice hyunjae’s eyes on you. you glanced over at him, giving him a quick, soft smile. unsurprisingly, he sent one back; however, surprisingly, he winked along with it. your eyes widened before you looked back at jacob, and of course, he noticed.

“oh wow,” he said, tapping eric’s shoulder. eric turned to look at him and then looked at you.

“what happened?” eric asked.

“is hyunjae single?”

as the meeting wound down, the eight of you found yourselves left in the room together. it was eerily quiet, especially too quiet for you, jacob, and eric to be in the same room together.

“so what’s everyone’s specialty?” you asked them all, looking around the table and waiting for someone to speak up. “well… i guess i’ll go first. i’m a combat and disguise specialist. mainly a combat specialist. probably the best part of this job is its danger, am i right?”

you heard a small chuckle from hyunjae and sunwoo and earned a smile from eric. as you finished up, jacob was quick to talk after you, “i’m a technical and surveillance specialist. since it’s just been me and y/n for so long, we both had to take on multiple things, which worked out well for us.”

“hell yeah, it has,” you said, high-fiving jacob.

“can’t disarm a bomb, that's for sure,” miyeon mumbled under her breath, only for jiwon to hear and giggle. you eyed her, furrowing your brow, but before you could say anything–

“my turn!” eric exclaimed. “i’m a combat specialist, kind of a disguise specialist now since working with y/n; speaking of, i have been working with jacob and y/n forever, it feels like.”

“only a year,” jacob rebutted. eric rolled his eyes and continued to talk.

“... anyway, i was supposed to be working with changmin hyung, but–"

“but you never show,” changmin finishes his sentence.

eric looked appalled, “what? yes, i did. the first five times i did.”

“but then you got booked on tons of missions with y/n, and i get it. anyway, since i’m already talking, i’m a technical specialist.”

you nodded, elbowing sunwoo, prompting him to talk.

“oh, well, i’m a combat specialist. my main old partner was a surveillance specialist,” sunwoo said, tapping his fingers on the table.

“i’m a technical specialist,” jiwon said, smiling. “my partner was juyeon, but he recently got put on the list as well.”

“so that’s where juyeon went…” eric expressed, tapping his chin. “you know i’ve been wondering, but now i remember all this stuff going on.”

“fucking idiot,” you mumbled, earning an oncoming hit from the younger one, only for you to dodge it and for it to hit sunwoo.

“ow.”

“sorry…” eric said, retracting his hand.

“if we could carry on. i’m a surveillance specialist. my partner was lee sangyeon. probably the most skilled combat specialist in korea,” miyeon said.

both you and hyunjae scoffed, the sound putting a sneer on miyeon’s face.

“i’m a combat specialist, but if we're talking the best, i would like to say it's me or even y/n,” hyunjae expressed, “you’re pretty good at what you do.”

“oh? how would you know that?” you asked him, tilting your head slightly.

“i’ve seen you train before, back when you were a rookie.”

“oh… uh, we don't have to bring those times up–"

“oh my gosh! rookie y/n was so funny,” jacob laughed. “good thing they paired her with me. she didn't know any sort of korean. oh, and how she looked the first time sangyeon talked to her. she was all- ow!”

you punched him. there’s no other way that jacob would shut up, and you knew it. one thing you didn't notice was how miyeon rolled her eyes at the mention of sangyeon’s name.

“anyways!” you exclaimed, “i think–"

“shouldn’t we be talking about the mission?” miyeon asked, cutting you off.

“well, we can't talk about the mission if we don't know what this mission is. obviously, we have to wait for kevin to come back,” you said, lip quirked up in annoyance. miyeon crossed her arms, looking back at jiwon and whispering to her.

you looked at eric, subtly pointing at her, questioning what her deal was. eric shrugged his shoulder, just as confused as you.

“hey, fuckers!” kevin yelled as he walked in. “oh, oh yeah, i forgot there were other people in here. hello.” kevin bowed at the others, sitting in one of the chairs near the head of the table and connecting his laptop to the big screen. “so, i have some pretty good leads. sorry for taking a while, i was trying to gather my thoughts and make this as cohesive as possible before i came in here.”

kevin began talking, clicking through the slides he had made. “recently, there have been buzzes about an underground syndicate. the syndicate has been known to target a few agents before; however, they were proven to stop targeting agents forever ago due to many men falling short of taking over.”

“the lee-yang syndicate?” you asked, leaning back in your seat, having learned of the group from jacob a year in the agency. kevin nodded, clicking on the next slide.

“yep, and they're back. apparently, under some new directive, they're powerful enough to crack into most of our systems and take over many emails. this list right now seems to be random, so please stay clear.”

you all nodded as kevin continued, “tomorrow, the mission is to get into one of their bases, boss has given me a location, and it seems as though it’s under a hair salon in yongsan–"

“does it really require this many people, though?” miyeon cut kevin off, hand raised.

you looked over at jacob this time, who looked as bothered as you.

“well, usually, no, but that's what i was getting to. we don't know how powerful they are now, so going in larger groups is safer. no one knows when or where they will be targeted, so it's better for you all to work together on this. right now, we're getting leads on the main boss. this, unfortunately, isn’t someone we've taken down before.”

as kevin clicked on the next slide, it showed a detailed plan, leading to a grander picture of the mr. lee, who was supposedly now in charge.

“so that’s the man in charge?” sunwoo asked.

“looks like a goof to me,” eric joked, causing you and jacob to stifle laughs.

“that's what i said!” kevin quipped along.

“can we please be a bit more serious about this? my poor sangyeon is in danger because of this,” miyeon expressed.

“your sangyeon?” you mumbled, shaking your head, before eric spoke again.

“she means our sangyeon. my poor hyung,” eric dramatically gripped his heart, fake sobbing before sunwoo hit his shoulder. eric looked up to see who hit him, but sunwoo started swatting at a fake fly.

“woah, i’m sorry, there was a fly on your shoulder.”

once the meeting was done, you said goodbye to eric as you, jacob, and sunwoo went to jacob’s car. once you and jacob had dropped sunwoo off, he began to make his way to your apartment. the ride was silent, a comfortable silence.

“that miyeon is something else, isn't she?” jacob examined.

“i don't see how eric and sangyeon deal with her,” you expressed, tapping your fingers on your thighs.

“you seemed a little jealous about that ‘my poor sangyeon’ thing,” jacob tried hiding his laugh, the key word being tried.

“jealous?! no, i was annoyed because she kept cutting everyone off.”

“but you said, and i quote, ‘your sangyeon?’ as if she had claimed something that was yours…”

“he basically is still mine,” you mumbled, looking out the window.

“you really have to work on your mumbling,” jacob chuckled.

“stop it!” you groaned, watching as he pulled into your apartment complex’s parking lot. as soon as he parked, you got out of the car, almost forgetting to unbuckle your seatbelt. you didn’t even say goodbye as you ran to your apartment.

the day drained you, and it felt like luck wouldn’t be on your side. you’re stuck with miyeon, with jiwon, and even worse, you’re still stuck with eric. as you made your way into the apartment, you closed the door with your foot, locked it, crashing on the couch.

thoughts ran through your mind as you lay on your couch. much of your thoughts surround the danger your ex was in. although you’re acting like you don't care, your heart has been at your feet since you learned about the situation. to be fair, it has been nothing but hell for you since sangyeon walked out of your apartment that night. your mind, no matter how many times you told it not to, lingered on him, his smile, his lips, his laugh, him.

you grew to love sangyeon even when you were just friends; the love never left. you missed lee sangyeon. you wholeheartedly missed him. however, your pride wouldn't allow you to say that aloud. at the end of the day, your pride led to your breakup's demise. your pride is your job. your pride is, unfortunately, in making kim younghoon happy.

it was mission day. this was the first mission with this team you didn't want to be on, but if it was to keep you all safe, so be it. you all gathered outside the cre.ker building; two cars surrounded you as you tried to break into two teams of four.

“all i know is i can't be separated from jacob,” you said, crossing your arms, sunglasses resting on your head. the disguise you had on was simple; you had made yourself somewhat unrecognizable, but who would know you in the first place.

“yeah, were a package deal,” jacob said, leaning up against his suv beside you.

“and i don’t want to be a woman stealer, hyunjae hyung, but–" eric began.

“miyeon and i can go together,” hyunjae declared. miyeon looked over at eric before nodding toward hyunjae.

“but–"

“we can go with jacob and y/n, eric,” changmin said, walking over to stand with you.

“sounds good to me,” you said, nodding towards the suv.

eric didn't complain more as he started walking.

“we all know the plan, right? we don't need anyone messing up,” miyeon said, focusing her gaze on you.

you couldn’t help but stare back, “we know it.”

“good.”

“okay~ let's go,” jacob said, pulling you toward the car. as you got in the back with eric, you groaned, looking around.

“what are you looking for?” eric questioned.

“something to fucking punch,” you stated simply, punching the headrest of the driver's seat a millisecond before jacob sat in it.

jacob turned around to face you with wide eyes, “were you trying to punch me?”

“no. unless your name is miyeon, i wasn't.”

“why would you want to punch miyeon?” changmin asked, looking at you.

“no reason. no reason at all.”

it took almost thirty minutes to get to the location, behind the building, across the street. you stared out the window, finding jiwon pulling up beside the suv you were in.

during the ride, you had eric change clothes and put on a wig. you then applied unrecognizable makeup on him, some of it becoming wonky during the car ride, but you managed to make it work. eric turned to you; his shirt was lopsided, and the fabric was covered in polka dots. he looked like a mess, but as he said, he only became okay in disguise when he started doing missions with you.

“oh wow… you look–"

“great, i know!” eric said, showing off his attire. “the pink dots really suit my eyes.”

“they- they sure do! we should go now, right, jacob?” you questioned, unbuckling yourself as you leaned forward.

“well, not yet,” jacob said, staring at the screen in front of him. “it's not safe. a few of their members are lurking around the building… i’m not sure why.”

you leaned up, holding onto the driver’s seat to look at the screen. surely enough, two men stood outside the salon laughing and talking while sipping their coffee. it was weird how casual they were being, but you brushed it off, saying:

“i’ll be okay. doesn't seem like they're paying much attention anyway.”

“y/n, be careful,” changmin voiced as you opened the vehicle door. you gave a simple nod, grabbing the fake nametag as you stepped out of the suv. you looked around. sunwoo was standing by the shop's back door, and you were all parked behind. hyunjae was already making his way in.

“were you waiting on me? how sweet sun–"

“hurry up, we gotta get to the back of the salon,” you heard miyeon yell from the suv.

you sneered, looking at her, “you're supposed to be stealthy.”

“just speed up, y/n; you can't call yourself the best if you–"

“can we actually hurry?” sunwoo asked. you looked over at him, nodded and walked into the shop. as you left with a coffee or two, you walked across the street.

as you said, neither man acknowledged you as you walked into the vibrant salon; maybe the polka dots for eric were a good idea. a few workers knew you were coming, but none of the customers did.

“welcome in,” the woman at the front desk said over the music playing. you walked up to the front desk, smiling as you showed her your nametag. she nodded, knowing exactly who you were, and a soft ‘hello’ left her mouth.

she stood up and walked over to an empty station. “this’ll be where you'll be for the day. if possible, please don't take any of our actual customers.”

“i won't,” you chuckled, earning a small laugh from her as well. as the laughter died down a mere second after it had started, her face turned earnest, and the smile left her face.

“i’m serious.”

once she said that she walked away and sat at the front desk. you watched as she brought two fingers to her eyes and then pointed them directly at you. forget the syndicate underground; this lady scared you.

you focused back on your station, masking yourself with the hustle and bustle of the other stylists. you began to fiddle with the products lying around on the vanity, humming the music that played. you heard the tuning of your earpiece, almost choking as you watched eric enter the establishment. he looked worse than you thought.

he walked over to the front desk before strutting to you with a huge grin. you tried your hardest not to look at him in disgust, but he made it difficult by greeting people in the other chairs. you turned around to face the mirror, keeping your face out of view so no one could see your displeased look.

“it's a mirror, y/n. i can see how you're looking at me,” he whispered, sitting in the seat.

you grimaced, walking behind him, turning his chair around to face the mirror, and playing your hands in the wig. “so, uh, what are we doing today?”

“i'm not sure. i was thinking of a trim and a nice dye. do you think a pretty rainbow color would look good on me? i mean, any color looks good, but you get what i mean. or maybe! a perm. dye and a perm? i think i'll do all three, please.”

eric looked at you through the mirror. your eyes were squinted, and it looked like your lip was twitching to say something, but you held off. “okay,” you said through gritted teeth.

twenty minutes had passed, and you were adding pretty pink rollers into eric’s ‘hair,’ deciding to do only the perm. you were shocking yourself with how efficiently you were doing this. you may not know how accurately you were doing it, but it looked right to you. as you were getting into the groove of things (and trying to ignore the glares from the lady at the front desk), jacob spoke in your ear,

“y/n, eric, the others have entered the bottom of the premises; also, the two other men have gone, so please be careful.”

you looked down at eric, and both of you nodded to each other in agreement.

after fifteen more minutes, you had eric sit under a dryer, where he talked to other older women about things he saw in magazines.

“i don't know, i don't think she wore it better. it’s obviously the leggings that are ruining it,” eric said, showing the lady beside him what he was looking at. she looked over, shaking her head, and pointed at something on the same page.

“no, the leggings make sense. can't you see? it suits how the dress is supposed to look,” she argues, tapping her pointer finger on the page to get the point across.

“yeah, if you’re in a 2000s bad teen rom-com, this is outdated and tacky,” eric said as you walked over to them both to check on the wig. “y/n, agree with me.”

eric turned the magazine to you as you looked over it. “it's cute. i mean, the leggings kind of suit it.”

eric groaned, tossing his hands up in exasperation. “no one gets it. do any of you understand fashion?”

“eric! y/n! something went wrong down there, so you two have to get people out of the building as soon as possible. they’re making their way up, and so far, it doesn't look pretty.” changmin yelled into the mic, causing you and eric to look at each other wide-eyed.

that was when you heard a gunshot. it was loud and clear to everyone in there, from the bullet that shot up from the ground to the first piercing scream.

you really hoped that no one down there was killed, but up where you and eric were, the goal of getting everyone out calm and orderly was shot to death.

women and men started running out, except for a select few who were too shocked to move. eric quickly stood up, guiding people out. even those frozen in place were soothed by eric’s calmness in their compromising circumstances.

you also tried to help, getting to the other side as you saw a lady under a dryer, reading a book with earphones in her ears. she looked familiar…

you bent down to eye level, tapping her on her knee, “ma'am, we need you to leave the pre–"

she glanced up at you, furrowing her brows in disgust. she took her earphones out and laid them on her lap, “the pesky cop from the hotel.”

you babbled like a baby as you tried to make sense of the situation, “you're the grandmot- i mean mother from the hotel. well, unfortunately, i need you to leave out of here, too. also, i’m not a cop–"

“here we go again. is this place going to blow up, too? am i not safe anywhere? are you stalking me?”

“ma'am. to answer your first question, no. to answer the other questions, yes and no. you’ll be safe if you leave right now. just–"

“you know what? this time, you stalker cop, you’re doing me a favor. i get to leave here with a free hairdo and some money left in my pocket.”

“i’m not a–"

you couldn't finish your sentence yet again as she stood up, brushed past you, and waltzed her way out of the establishment. you looked around, eyeing eric as he guided the last customer from the salon.

you reached into your inside jacket pocket and pulled out your weapon. you watched eric yank his styling cape off, pulling his polka-dotted shirt from his pants. he reached under the oversized shirt, pulling his gun from the holster. you glanced over at eric, snorting a bit before turning away.

“what?” he asked, not noticing the wig was still on his head.

“nothing, nothing. let’s go,” you coughed out to hide your laughter. eric slowly nodded along, still confused, as the two of you made your way to the back of the shop.

you heard another gunshot as you opened the door, crouching behind a large dumpster. you brought eric down with you, listening in for either jacob or changmin to speak.

“the two men from before, they have weapons drawn. they’ll be walking up to the two of you in about thirty seconds. remember, don't kill them,” changmin advised.

“do you have a tranq?” eric asked in a whisper.

you nodded as you dug into your other pocket, pulling out a single tranquilizing dart. eric reached under the shirt again, opening a pouch to grab his own before the two reached you.

“on three, you get the heavy one, and i’ll get the taller one,” eric whispered.

“why do i have to get the heavier one?” you argued.

“you’re stronger,” he disputed with no shame. “plus, you have the agility to get him, duh.”

“well, if you put it like that. you're absolutely right.”

eric clicked his tongue in annoyance before asking the two in the car how close the men were.

“ten seconds…” jacob began.

you and eric got in position as jacob told you both which sides you'd have to get since he'd heard the plan eric provided. it was now five seconds, four, three, two…

you and eric popped out behind the two men as they passed you both. eric jumped on top of one, keeping him quiet with the sleeve of his shirt: baically a headlock. you, on the other hand, had your guy in a choking position. you counted eric down before both of you put each of them to sleep with the darts.

as the guys slumped, you let out a breath, turning around to be greeted by a running sunwoo. he was alone, three guys chasing him. you and eric drew your weapons, pointing them at the men chasing sunwoo. sunwoo stopped once he reached the two of you, holding up his own gun, glancing at eric, and snorting at him almost as loud as you did.

“why are you laughing at me now?” eric asked sunwoo, glancing at him.

“shh, we’re in a standoff,” sunwoo said, sucking in his lips once more.

“hey, sunwoo?” you began, your eyes still locked on the three men before you.

“yeah?”

“can you turn around for me real fast and start running again?”

“what? why would i do that when it’s 3-on-3 already?”

“trust me.”

so he did. sunwoo lowered his gun, slowly turned, and jolted once again. eric looked over at you, confused, as the one in the middle started running again, seemingly forgetting you and eric were still right there.

as he started running, you grabbed his arm perfectly pulling him into your grasp and placing two fingers on one of his pressure points. once he wilted in your hold, you wrapped your forearm around his throat, all while keeping the gun pointed at the other man in front of you. you kicked the man's hand, the gun falling from his defenseless body.

“holy shit,” eric mumbled.

“i knew one of them was gonna be stupid enough to try and go after sunwoo. i guess this is why they failed the first time, dumbasses. now put your weapon up and use your fucking combat,” you urged, dropping the man in your arms to his knees. eric snickered at you, nodding his head before putting the gun down.

he turned to the guy in front of him, shrugging to himself before running towards him. eric was as proficient as most combat specialists, and you trusted his skills more than you did anyone’s (other than sangyeon’s). when eric joined you and jacob, he was a rookie. through that year and a half, you watched eric bloom into one of the best agents in the country. if him beating this guy’s ass wasn't telling enough for others, it was sure enough telling for you.

as you were about to get the other one, you saw the door behind him swing open and watched as someone ran out to attack him. the man didn't stand a chance to even try to lunge at you as he was battered to the ground… by lee fucking sangyeon.

once they both took the men down, you couldn't keep the look off your face. the look of bewilderment and a bit of contempt. you weren't upset he was there–kind of–but you were pissed he was out and about when there were obvious threats against him. so in other words, you were upset he was there.

“are you fucking kidding me?” you questioned, making your way toward him.

“we don't have time. we have to go,” sangyeon said, placing a hand on your head to turn you back around. “let's get out of here. police have already been called.”

before you could say anything else, sangyeon started running, fast. you looked over at eric, but he was still looking at sangyeon, puzzled. he once again shrugged to himself as he took your hand and began running to where the cars were now parked. jacob was standing outside the suv, leaning on the back of it. since sangyeon made it before you and eric, he and jacob were in the middle of a conversation.

jacob stopped talking and looked over at you as you approached.

“what. the. fuck are you doing here?” you yelled, stomping over to the older man. you pointed a finger at him, and you had a frustrated frown.

sangyeon threw his hands up in defense, “it wasn't me. miyeon phoned me in, and you know i can't bail on a good fight.”

“that woman is so… you know you're not supposed to be out in public like this! are you that dumb?” you expressed, your hands placed on your hips.

sangyeon slowly dropped his hands, the same smirk you swore you'd seen before gracing his stupidly handsome face, “agent l/n, if i’m not mistaken, it seems like you're worried about me.”

“no, it’s just; what if someone ends up on this list because you wanted to be in a fight?”

“then they'll be on the list, and who knows, maybe it would be my fault. would you be as worried for them as you are for me?” he leaned towards you, tauntingly close. your arms crossed over your chest as you looked him in the eyes.

“i’d be worried about anyone on that list, regardless of who they are.”

“oh, really? because i highly doubt that, y/n. i know you weren't this worried when they announced your new little friend’s partner's name, did you?”

“who?”

“sunwoo’s partner.”

“how do you know about her being put on the list?” you challenged accusatively.

“we work in partnering agencies now. obviously, i know everyone else on the list, plus jacob told me,” sangyeon nodded toward jacob, glancing at him briefly.

“well, even then, you have no idea how i reacted.”

“and somehow, i still know you didn't act like this.”

“act like what?”

“like you're scared that hit will be successful on me.”

“shut up. you don't know shit about me.”

“oh yeah?”

“yeah.”

jacob cleared his throat, almost feeling like a third wheel since eric had made his way into the suv already. he was about to speak before miyeon walked over, seeing you and sangyeon so close to each other. you looked over at her, noting how upset she looked at the mere sight of you two being near each other. you swiftly moved away from sangyeon before shifting your gaze back to him.

“oh look, your girlfriend’s waiting for you,” you said intrusively, entering the suv.

you took one more peek at sangyeon, not finding him but catching a satisfied smile on miyeon’s face as she walked up to him, a hand on his arm. you considered that she heard you as you hopped in the suv, looking around again, feeling like you needed something to punch. since jacob wasn't in the car yet, you punched his headrest a millisecond before he got in.

jacob jumped, looking around the seat to you, not a trace of remorse on your face.

“okay, this time, you were trying to punch me,” jacob said, closing his door and watching the other suv take off before him.

“if your name is sangyeon or miyeon, you're right,” you said, sitting back in your seat.

“now you want to punch hyung? are you just like your boss and don't like cre.ker?” changmin interrogated.

“don’t you ever compare me to that walking piece of garbage.”

“yeah, don't ever. she's much better,” eric said, sitting back, not realizing he still had the wig with the pretty pink rollers in it.

“nice hair, eric. the pink rollers go well with the polka dots,” jacob said before starting the suv engine.

eric needed answers. he pulled out his phone and opened his camera app, his eyes widening. “that's why i was being laughed at!?”

“so who ruined it?” you asked, leaning back in your chair, looking up at everyone in the room. “i know damn well it wasn’t eric or i.”

the day after, you were all called to the office building. it was not only shocking that kim younghoon insisted you all come together again in his office specifically, but he was in the same room at the same time as lee sangyeon. the room was unmoving, silent, and tense. no one wanted to take accountability–

“it was hyunjae,” sunwoo declared, crossing his arms looking at him.

hyunjae looked down at his hands, unable to look up and see the disappointment on his boss’s face.

“how did you fuck up?” you asked him, tapping your foot. the ever-growing impatience getting to you.

“i got caught. i got caught before i even made it to the location i was supposed to search, i’m sorry,” he apologized, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

“i can’t believe this. we even had to drag agent lee out into the public just because you had to go and ruin the mission. do you realize how dangerous and irresponsible it was of you?” mr. youngro clamored. you looked over at jacob, feeling uncomfortable as he continued to yell at the man. hyunjae looked like a child being scolded. “i’m so disappointed in you.”

“okay! we get it, but that day is over. hyunjae messed up, yeah, sure. but–" sangyeon started.

“but shouldn’t you be getting upset at sangyeon himself for putting himself in danger, or maybe get upset with miyeon for calling him when she knew he was on the list? this wasn't a one-person thing,” you said, looking over at both miyeon and sangyeon.

miyeon scoffed, rolling her eyes. god, you hated that.

“something wrong, jung?” you inquired. “you’d think that if you cared so much about your own partner, you’d want him safe, right?”

“of course i want him safe–"

“then why did you call him? did you want to see him so badly? you put your little fucking crush over his own and our protection?” you interrogated. at this point, the words left your mouth faster than you could stop them.

miyeon looked shocked, sending glances to sangyeon. sangyeon looked over at you in dismay as miyeon continued, “you're so dense, y/n. do you realize how you sound right now?”

“enlighten me. tell me how i sound.”

“like a bitter ex-girlfriend.”

“oh fuck out of here!”

“oh, and it didn't seem like you were that upset seeing him yesterday, anyway. you were all close to him and stuff. at this point, it's sad.”

younghoon perked up at that, eyes squinting as he looked at you. you shared a gaze with him, seeing his own disappointment. you couldn't care less as you looked back over at miyeon.

“sad? baby, i don't want him. (lies) you can have him. (no, she can’t) it's a matter of whether he wants you or not,” you jeered, looking over at sangyeon and then back to the woman you were talking to. “but this isn't about him, though. it's about your dumbass decisions and the way you chose to handle your groupmate’s mistakes.”

miyeon was taken aback as you kept talking, “if you and jiwon were as good as you say or even the slightest protective over these guys as you were your own partners, you would've told hyunjae there was someone on his ass, but you didn't. you’re selfish and inconsiderate, just like your fucking partner.”

“me, inconsiderate?” sangyeon exclaimed, “me?”

“yes, you. you agreed to come out of hiding, didn't you?”

“i did, but it was to save hyunjae’s ass. you can't put the blame all on miyeon because hyunjae didn't do his job correctly,” sangyeon retorted angrily. hyunjae looked over at him and balled his fist up, his eyes squinted as he darted at the older agent.

“i didn't mess up fully. as y/n said, it wasn't all my fault!” hyunjae tried to rebut. you nodded your head over at hyunjae agreeing with him. hyunjae gave you a small smile, thanking you for agreeing as he returned to sangyeon. sangyeon caught the interaction, clenching his jaw at hyunjae. hyunjae saw him, sneering, thinking it was the mistake sangyeon was so upset at.

“please, hyunjae, you’ve always needed sangyeon’s help on these things, i feel bad, but it is always you specifically,” miyeon spoke.

“that's not true at all.”

“it kind of is, hyung,” changmin said. “but i’m not putting all the blame on you.”

“well, as i was saying, the job wasn't done properly, so putting the blame on just miyeon is ridiculous,” sangyeon argued.

“oh, look! something you and your girlfriend have in common, not taking accountability for your parts in this whole thing.”

“i for one know you, you y/n l/n, aren’t talking about taking accountability. did you forget what happened?”

“how can i forget when you bring it up anytime i see you, fucking jerk, not realizing that i did what i did to save my job? you need to get over it. focus on miyeon, right?”

“you've got to be kidding me! are you making a scene because your mind is making up bullshit scenarios?”

“you know what, sangyeon, maybe it was a mistake i dated you in the first place. maybe it was right for you and miyeon to end up together. you’re both raging assholes that just don’t give a fuck and care about you only,” you stood up, and jacob followed you up. jacob wrapped his arm around you, looking at your boss and youngro.

“here you go again. you keep talking about something that's not even true, and you know it wasn't a mistake dating me. stop faking it. and if i did only care about me, i wouldn’t have cared to text or call you all i did when you did go and break up with me. it’s you who doesn’t fucking care.”

“oh fuck you.”

“okay! okay! mr. bae, please guide agent l/n to her desk. we aren’t getting anywhere if all of you are yelling at each other,” youngro said, rubbing his forehead as he paced the office.

jacob dragged you out to the office desk you rarely used, sitting you in your seat. you felt tears in your eyes as your hand shook. jacob put his hand up, palm facing you as you looked over at him. you let out a sigh, sucking up those tears as you weakly punched his hand.

“hey, hey, it’s okay. breathe,” jacob soothed.

“is that the talking he wanted to do, huh?”

jacob didn't respond, letting you calm down for a few minutes. after about ten minutes, jacob turned around when he heard the door open again. he watched everyone except the two bosses and sangyeon walk out. miyeon looked over at you, laughing, before walking to the elevators.

eric looked at you, pouting his way over. sunwoo also walked over and sat on your other side. he seemed slightly guilty, but you didn't know what for. “i’m sorry.” he said.

“for what?” you asked, but he didn't get to respond as you saw youngro and sangyeon walk off. youngro guided sangyeon out, and younghoon walked out a few seconds later. his face was red as if he had something to say as well. you didn’t look any longer, hearing eric’s words but not comprehending any of them.

sangyeon, as he walked past, had his eyes locked dead on you. he again had no readable emotion on his face. still, when you tried to look away, your eyes were back on him again. another thing you didn't catch was younghoon on the other side of the room, watching as the two of you stared at each other.

he was shocked it was you arguing with sangyeon and not him, but this somehow felt worse.

it was the end of the day, you felt free being able to sit the whole day, no mission. kevin came up to you, bending down and showing you his laptop. “we have a new mission for tomorrow.”

“is it with the whole group again? because i don't know if i'm going to be able to do it,” you said, looking at the laptop, reading it over before looking back at your own screen.

“unfortunately, yes.”

“well! looks like you’re showing the wrong person.”

“you okay?”

“i’m great, honestly, fabulous, really!”

kevin looked at you, furrowing his brows and nodding as he stood up. “i don’t believe you, but i’ll walk away anyway.”

you sighed, slamming your head on your desk before you heard a ping on your monitor. you watched your email symbol brighten and blink as you hovered your mouse over it. you double-clicked, opened the email, and saw you had several unread emails. you looked at the top message, deciding to click on it.

your eyes trailed over the words, each sentence made you raise your head slowly, your stomach drop, and your eyes widen. the final words of the email:

“you’re now on our list. you can hide, but for how long?”

“but i don’t want to…” you sighed, sitting on your couch.

“it's the only way to keep you safe, y/n. i fucking hate this,” jacob said, pacing back and forth.

“but do i really have to stay in a random house?”

“it's a house that hasn't been tracked by any of them, plus it's really nice. just c’mon before i start crying and shit.”

“crying? jacob, why would you cry?”

“because now i’m stuck with people i don't really know or like and, worst of all, eric.”

“i heard that!” eric said, walking out of your room with your bags. “my poor y/n. i can't believe you're on that stupid fucking list now.”

“oh well, all i can do is hide, and if that doesn't work, i’ll die.”

“don't say that!” both eric and jacob yelled simultaneously.

“okay! okay! jeez… let's go already.”

you trudged to the car, getting in, leaning back in your seat. you wished you could sleep this all away, but it didn't happen. as soon as you woke up, you found yourself parked in front of one the largest houses you'd ever seen.

“boss hooked it up, so now there should be everything you need in there,” jacob said, getting out. you followed suit, looking up at it, sighing softly as you walked up the grand front doors. the door was unlocked as you twisted the knob and walked in. your eyes instantly looked around. it was almost as beautiful on the inside as on the outside.

eric brought in your bags, eyes widening at the interior. “can i be put on the list, too? i want to stay here.”

“oh, shut up and take the bags to her room. come on, i’ll show you to it. i got to see the house before you did,” jacob said, walking towards a large room. he pushed the door open, eric plopped the bags down only to run to the bed.

“it’s so soft.”

“you’re telling me i have to stay in this big ass house alone?”

ironically, after you said that you heard the door open and shut, a murmur of voices came from the front of the house as you three walked back to the living room.

“no fucking way,” jacob whispered.

you came out of the room last. once you walked down the hallway, your eyes met the one out of two men you didn't want to see. it was lee sangyeon, of course. a lee sangyeon carrying bags himself.

“what are you doing here?” you asked through gritted teeth.

“no, what are you doing here?” he asked, his face contorted in disgust.

“i asked you first.”

“well, he asked you second,” miyeon said from behind him.

“butt out.”

jacob scratched the back of his neck, “this was the address younghoon gave me.”

“why does he keep doing this?” you groaned, walking over to the couch. you plopped down, covering your face as you heard jacob’s phone beep.

“shit… we gotta go, y/n, mission calls,” he said, nodding toward the door. eric waved, walking behind jacob, and miyeon rubbed sangyeon’s arm, walking out a few seconds after. once the door shut, the room became silent. you sat there for a bit before standing up and going to your new room without another word.

and that’s how it had been for the past few days with you two. there was silence, barely any words in the house unless they were coming from a screen.

yes, you’ve passed each other in the hallway.

yes, you’ve looked at each other for far too long at periods.

yes, you left food out in case he wanted something to eat and vice versa.

yes, you've seen him walk from the bathroom borderline naked because, for some reason, he wanted to use the shower in the bathroom closest to the living room and the one closest to your room.

yes, you started wanting to talk to him on your third day.

yes, you've started missing him.

yes, the close proximity was getting to you.

but no, you can't break first.

and you didn't. this distance, both close and far at the same time, was getting to sangyeon as well. so as you sat in the living room of the house, legs crossed, watching a movie, sangyeon found it the perfect time to sit beside you.

not a word was said; you didn't even look at him. you could smell his natural musk mixed with the cologne he was wearing. he’d always smelt so good. his fingers tapped his thigh as he leaned back, looking at the tv screen.

your eyes flickered everywhere until they finally landed on his side profile. he was actually a dream—a dream you never wanted to wake up from but were forced to. your eyes traveled from his eyes to his nose, lips, and jaw and right back to his eyes… which were now staring into yours. his eyes looked down at your lips, the bottom one trapped between your teeth out of nervousness.

his eyes looked back into yours, the emotion still unreadable, but one emotion showing through more than it had the first time you guys were together. lust.

your breathing began to pick up, the feeling of butterflies weighed heavy in your stomach, and you were sure your hands were fiddling with something, but you couldn't look or feel. sangyeon’s gaze felt like it was taking up all your senses.

you heard sangyeon mumble, “fuck it.” before he leaned in and kissed you so hard it knocked all the wind out of you. once he felt you not kiss back, he pulled away with his eyes closed.

“i’m sorry. i-i got caught up in the moment and–"

“shut the hell up,” you said before you reached over and kissed him just as hard. the built-up emotion, the craving, and the need were all coming in full force.

sangyeon grabbed your hand, pulling you in his lap before picking you up by the thighs. you cradled his face, feeling his tongue hot against yours. the kiss was sensual, heavy, and so passionate it could weaken anyone. sangyeon walked you both into his room, which you were seeing for the first time as he laid you on his bed.

sangyeon pulled away from the kiss for a second, watching you chase his lips. he chuckled softly, pecking your lips repeatedly until you had to speak.

“i need you,” you said, feeling his lips hover over yours once again to go into another peck. “i need you so bad, sangyeon. i really need you to fuck the feelings away if you have to. i need you to fuck me like you hate me.”

sangyeon paused his pecks, his eyes pierced daggers into yours, “i can't.”

“huh?” you asked timidly. did you fuck up by saying that? is that not what he wanted?

he pressed his lips onto yours again, this time not in a peck, as his teeth bit down on your bottom lip, “you know i fucking can't,” he continued. he didn't let you get out a response before his lips were on yours again.

“i love you, and you know that, don't you? as much as i want to hate you, i just can't.” his lips met yours again. “i should be fucking pissed off at you for the little ‘your girlfriend’ stunt you pulled in front of miyeon. why’d you do it? why say any of it? because you were jealous of her? you don't get to be fucking jealous if someone has a crush on me.”

“i’m not jeal–" he shut you up quick.

another kiss left you breathless, “i should've hated you when you wouldn't respond to me on the first mission we had together in a long time.” another kiss. “and i for damn sure should've hated you that night. the night you broke my heart into pieces, but guess what… i couldn't bring myself to hate you.”

you looked up at sangyeon and listened to every emotion flood from his mouth like a waterfall. you watched the pool of emotions in his eyes become more complex, which you didn't think was possible. a part of you continued to break from its shell as he talked.

“i found love in you, y/n, something i hadn’t been able to find in any other woman, and you took that for granted. it's been a year, i should despise you. when i saw you at that damn banquet, it was either i keep my eyes off of you and wallow in the fact that when i look at you, my stomach turns to mush, or i stare at you and realize how bad you messed up my mind for that whole fucking year. i should hate you, but i just. can't. do. it.

so instead, i’m gonna fuck you how i should have been fucking you for a year. i’m gonna fuck you, so even if we don't do this again, you won't be able to take anyone the way you're about to take me. i’m gonna fuck you so your pretty body, your pretty mind, your whole being will regret the time you hurt me and only remember how good it was with me. i’m gonna fuck you like the love of your life should, do you understand me?”

“yes.”

“good, now i’ll shut the fuck up, and you’ll let me take care of you.”

sangyeon’s lips found purchase on your neck, licking and sucking at your pulse, not leaving a mark but oh so badly wanting to. he ran his hands up and down your body, seemingly trying to re-familiarize himself with every dip, crevice, and softness he felt the first time.

“you remember when we had sex the first time?”

you nodded.

“you think you could sit on my face properly this time? meaning, without a fight of me declaring my love for you?”

“a-again? are you sure you want–”

“i’m positive. don’t think i didn't catch you staring at my nose, baby. i know you want it too.”

sangyeon lifted your shirt a bit, kissing down your stomach, passing where you wanted him and down to your thighs. bless your senses in not wearing any panties tonight. you were sure sangyeon could tell you weren't wearing any because the arousal that was leaking from you was certainly not going unnoticed. he spread your legs wider, biting the insides of your thighs before looking up at you through his lashes.

this was a beautiful man.

“okay, let's go,” he said, not giving you any time to move. he sat up, tossed his shirt off and forced you up. he laid on his back with you still in his arms, and made you straddle his chest. his hands latched on to the hem of your shorts, pulling them down. you lifted up for a little bit, kicking them off as you kissed him once more.

“kissing is great and all, but if i don't feel your pussy on my tongue in the next five seconds, i might pass away,” he said, licking your bottom lip.

“you went without my pussy for a year and a half, i think you'll survive five seconds,” you quipped.

“mmm, baby, you don’t get how tortuous it was for me. you should’ve left a little gift for me before you decided to run out and break up with me.”

“maybe this time i’ll give you enough to remember.”

“then give it to me.”

you said not another word. your confidence was higher than the first time you both did this: kind of. you crawled up to his face and watched his pupils dilate from just the mere sight of your sopping pussy above his mouth for the first time in what felt like an eternity. as you lowered your hips, sangyeon thought you were going too slow. he grabbed both of your ass cheeks, dragging you down on his tongue.

a shuddered moan left your throat as his tongue lay flat on your folds. just this felt perfect, but you knew sangyeon wouldn't stand you being stagnant for much longer, so you started moving your hips.

oh, how you could tell he still had a thing for your ass. his hands barely left it as his tongue delved into your pussy. you were melting onto his tongue almost like an ice cream cone, and he couldn't waste a single droplet of you.

if you could tape the moan he let out from just tasting you, you’d keep it on repeat forever.

“you taste..” he couldn’t stay off of you for too long. “so fucking…” he sighed into you, pushing his face further into you. “so fucking good.”

“fu-fuck sangyeon. feels so good,” you whimpered, one hand traveling to grip his hair.

he sucked, licked, and swallowed every bit of nectar that fell from you. you kept moving your hips as best as you could, but you almost forgot how good he was at this.

your eyes almost crossed, and your hips nearly halted once his tongue stiffened to dip into your hole. you looked down at him and watched him tongue fuck you like a deprived man.

you grabbed onto the headboard with one hand, bouncing on his tongue but only lightly. you shivered, feeling one of his hands massage your thigh, the other applying a small amount of pressure on your puckered hole. that was new.

his nose rubbed against your clit, his tongue searched within your walls. the hand that was on your thigh parted your lips, and he brought his tongue out of you to lick up to your clit. you think it was the first time he opened his eyes to look at you as he wrapped his lips around the bundle of nerves.

you bit your lip and closed your eyes trying to control yourself before grabbing his hand that was on your thigh. you held onto it for dear life as he stared at you like he was hypnotized, enamored by you and you only.

“w–oh shit–wait, sangyeon,” you whined.

he stopped for a bit, continuing to look up at you. he pecked your clit, waiting for you to continue.

“i-i wanna give you h-head too,” you don’t know why you sounded so nervous, but this was something you’d wanted to try the first night you shared.

when he didn't respond, you shook your head again, “yeah, no, never mind. sorry, we can just–"

“turn around.”

“what?”

“turn around,” he repeated, as calm as the last time.

you grinned, un-straddling his face before re-straddling it and facing his lower half. you were quick to bend at the waist to latch your fingers on his sweatpants, tugging them down, his cock slapping up against his stomach.

“did you plan this?” you turned to look at him, his attention on the flesh of your ass. he slapped and kissed it as you were trying to resettle yourself.

“plan what?” he questioned, his eyes finally finding yours.

“sangyeon, you don’t have any underwear on.”

“you didn’t either.”

“touché, but you were the one to sit beside me in the living room, knowing you didn’t have underwear on,” you leaned forward, kissing his dick softly. you heard a hiss from behind you as you sucked his tip in your mouth, grabbing the shaft with your right hand.

“stop making sense and suck.”

you laughed softly. you forgot how big he was. you knew he wasn’t gonna fit in your mouth fully. but why not give it a try. as you held onto his cock, you widened your mouth around him, going as far as you could.

you felt his tip hit the back of your throat as you tried holding it there for a bit. sangyeon chuckled, spreading your lips once more, tongue diving in. you moaned around him, pulling up and seeing the trail of saliva you left behind.

you stroked him before parting your lips around his cock again. sangyeon wasn’t afraid to show you how he felt as you heard and felt on your pussy. you don’t know if you were doing a great job or if he was just sensitive. you weren’t going to go with the latter since you were putting your all into getting him all in your mouth.

sangyeon felt you struggle and heard you gag when you tried to take him all in, so he started rubbing your back to soothe you, “baby, don’t try to do it in one go. you’ll have plenty of time to learn how to take me.”

you pulled off with a slight cough, “oh yeah? is this your way of saying you want me back?” you turned to him, eyes locking again.

“if that whole talk i gave you before we started didn’t tell you, then i don’t mind stopping in the middle again and declaring my love for you like the first time.”

you smiled, shaking your head, “save it. i want you back, too… only if… you know… you’ll accept.”

you didn’t think sangyeon could move any faster than he did trying to get you on his face. he flipped you, leaving the bed to place your head on the pillows. he spread your thighs again, getting in the middle of them, and went back to eating you out.

somehow, this felt more desperate than the first time.

“you don’t get how long i’ve been waiting for you to say that. fuck, i need you to come on my face, baby,” he groaned, bringing his fingers to your aching hole. he plunged them in, not starting slow at all.

“fuck! i’m close already, k-keep going, please~” you begged, knowing he wasn’t stopping until he felt you come.

his fingers felt around in you, finding that gummy part and using it to his advantage. the tips of his fingers reached places in you that you could only imagine. he was so large all over, and just thinking about how his cock was going to feel in you had your legs shaking.

“i’m coming, yeon please don't stop, please,” you chanted. you kept pleading until the knot in your stomach snapped. you let out pornographic moans that were music to sangyeon’s ears.

his fingers didn’t stop. he wanted you further than just coming once, he needed everything from you, and you were about to give it to him just like he wanted you to. knowing you were close again, he used his other hand to press down on your lower belly, watching how your breathing picked up.

you threw your head back, babbling words that sounded like sangyeon's name mixed with curses. that’s when it happened: you squirted.

it was the first time ever for you. now you had to ask yourself how sensitive you were to even squirt, how sangyeon knew you had it in you, and how the fuck did you even do that.

sangyeon watched you in astonishment, biting his lip. your legs threatened to close, but he held them open with one hand. his cock twitch as he watched your pussy clench around nothing once he took his fingers out.

“breathe,” he said, rubbing your thigh. “so beautiful. so so beautiful.”

once you calmed, you looked at him. your eyes were hazy, lips swollen, and light tear stains on your cheeks. you looked at him how he’s been waiting since you separated, with love and want, like he was the only one in the world. he fucking loved you.

sangyeon leaned down, wiping your cheeks and kissing them after. the kisses went from your cheeks to your lips as you giggled, a smile forming when he hovered over your lips.

“i love you,” you whispered on his lips. your words had never been more true. you loved this man, and didn’t have to deny it to yourself anymore. fuck pride, fuck stubbornness, and, more importantly, fuck kim younghoon.

“i love you more.”

“liar.”

“i am not!”

“mhm, because if you loved me, you’d be fucking me.”

sangyeon didn’t say anything as he smirked, grabbing his cock and guiding it into you but just the tip.

“admit, i love you more,” he said, mesmerized by the way your face morphed in pleasure by just the tip of his dick.

you shook your head– maybe a little stubbornness was okay. you gasped as he added more of his cock into you. he was so big, you were so stretched with just a few inches. he was nowhere near entirely in you yet.

“admit it, and i’ll fuck you just. like. you. want,” he thrust hallow into you, leaning down to kiss your neck.

“okay. okay fuck, you love me more, just please. need you so bad,” you whined. sangyeon grabbed the bottom of your shirt, pulling it over your head and tossing it to the floor.

in one fluid motion, he sunk into you, nearly bottoming out. there were still a few inches, but you felt like you couldn’t breathe. a silent moan leaving your lips. sangyeon leaned down again, kissing your jaw and whispering praises in your ear while trying to keep his composure.

“we’re almost there. you can take it, right?” he asked, rubbing your hips.

you nodded enthusiastically, feeling like if he went any deeper, you’d come all over again. it was worth the risk.

he sank in deeper until you felt his torso meet your clit. sangyeon leaned down, licking your neck up to your lips. he kissed you softly, waiting for you to adjust, but once you clenched down on him, he had to pull away from your lips to let out a sound of his own.

“how’re you feeling?” he asked.

“g-good… you can move now,” you mewled, tilting your head to the side as he nipped again on your pulse.

his hips started slow, letting you feel every vein on his length. he didn’t have to move any faster for you to come, really, but you wanted him to. you needed to take him.

sangyeon was facing the same battle as you, he was fighting not to come, and your pussy was gripping him so tight he thought he’d pass out.

“fuck, have you.. have you not been with anyone since the last time?” he asked, partially because of how sensitive you were earlier and because of now. your cunt was still, even after the orgasms you’d just had, clenching and holding on to any and every ridge of his cock it could.

you said a soft no, and that seemingly turned him on more because right when the no left your mouth, his hips picked up. his cock rutted in and out of you, his hands gripping your thighs as he pushed them back so your knees hit your tits.

“yeon, oh–mmh–fuck! harder, i-i can take it,” you sputtered out. panic settled in, however, when you felt him pull out completely. “no!”

sangyeon shushed you, burying his whole length in you, a high-pitched whine leaving your mouth as he did so. his pace was brutal, each stroke leaving you choking for air. this is what you wanted; god, it felt better than you imagined.

you were so sensitive, so feeble to every thrust, so in love. you couldn't keep your eyes off him, the way his thick eyebrows furrowed in concentration, his own moans leaving his mouth as your warm cunt squeezed onto him, his hands gripping your thighs and keeping them up and spread. you were so turned on; the squelching of your pussy reminded you every time sangyeon fucked in and out of you.

“so fucking tight, fuck, you're so good, baby,” sangyeon grunted. “my beautiful girl, gonna let me fuck you all the time until i make up for that year, yeah?”

you nodded, not in your right mind, but you heard fuck all the time and were obliged to agree. he was so deep, each thrust had the tip of his cock kissing your cervix. he was fucking you so good you felt like sobbing. the room was filled with praises and skin slapping.

sangyeon could’ve came just by looking at you, how lost in pleasure you were, how, funny enough, dumb you looked. it was so hot. one of the smartest, headstrong people he knew was cock-dumb because of him. the way you looked up at him was contradictory from the actions going on in the stuffy bedroom, somehow your eyes were full of innocence while he was rearranging your insides.

“don’t look at me like that,” he groaned, leaning down, hiding his face in your neck.

you mumbled a sorry but couldn't get it out fully as sangyeon sent a particular rough thrust into you. “oh my fucking gosh,” you moaned, bringing your hands up to his biceps. your nails dug into the skin, the pain shooting right to his cock.

sangyeon leaned back up, feeling you clench down harder, noting your face and how your toes curled. you were close.

“right there,” you whimpered. “don’t stop, god, please don't stop.”

“i’m not baby, i’m not. wanna come? fucking cream on my cock?” his thumb dropped to your clit, rubbing it in circles. you nodded, gripping him tightly before letting out a loud moan. he felt your walls flutter around his cock, again holding back his own orgasm.

your eyes watered, tears slowly falling down your cheeks. it all felt too good. you didn't know what to do but to take the pleasure he was giving you. once the pleasure came to its peak, you were granted your release, your breath getting caught in your throat, your eyes squeezing shut.

you were brought back to when you felt sangyeon pull out of you, your eyes shooting open as you started grabbing at him to come back. you had already come three times, but you weren’t thinking with your mind; your pussy was reacting for you.

sangyeon pushed your hands away, flipping you again, pushing your head down on the mattress, and raising you up by your hips. sangyeon had told you before that your ass was a weakness; he needed to see it bounce on him to get himself there.

“so needy. so fucking needy, so i’m gonna give you what you want, my love,” he said, a thought switching in his head as he gripped your ass in both hands. “i want to try something. you can tell me if you don't like it.”

“okay, just please. fuck me,” you reached back, grabbing his length and rubbing the tip right on your hole. you moved your hand as sangyeon slowly guided himself back into you, burying himself to the hilt.

he began rolling his hips into you, sharp, slow strokes. he gripped your hips, keeping the same rhythm, slightly speeding up his movements. with each thrust, your broken moans got muffled by the mattress under you.

you may have overestimated yourself because the way he was fucking you now felt overwhelming. now you were free to sob; his dick was curving perfectly in you. your hands grabbed the headboard, trying to drag yourself away from his brutal thrusts. it felt too good, but way too much for you to handle. you got too ambitious at first, were you regretting it? no, not at all.

“oh no, don't run from it. this is what you wanted, right?” sangyeon pulled you back flush against his cock. he reached down to grab both of your arms, crossing them on your back. he held both your wrists together with his left hand, dragging you back as his thrusts met his pulls. “mm, fuck. you’re so perfect. missed this pussy so much.”

“fu-uck. so sensitive,” you choked out, your eyes rolling back.

“hold in there for me, baby, but back to what i wanted to try,” you could practically hear the smirk on his face. that was when you heard him pop a finger out of his mouth and felt the same pressure you felt while riding his face. his thumb was back on that upper hole, pressing down, watching your body jolt.

everything felt electric, your body was under his control. you couldn’t form sentences as he pounded into you, chasing his own high. his thumb didn't move, and you admit, although unusual, it felt so fucking good. he felt you tighten around him, your moans getting higher in pitch. sangyeon halted for a bit, leaning on your back as he took his hand from your wrists. he grabbed your face by your cheeks, kissing your lips sensually before continuing his motions.

“come, baby, wanna feel you one more time,” he moved the same hand underneath you, using four fingers to rub on your throbbing nub. you couldn’t moan, you couldn’t scream, and all you could do was keep your mouth open in hopes a sound did come out.

the spot he was hitting was perfect as your body shook, pussy convulsed, and more squirt streamed from you onto sangyeon’s thighs and comforter. sangyeon sat back up and groaned, looking down at where your cunt was taking him.

“i’m gonna come, baby, fuck i’m gonna come,” sangyeon panted.

“in…” you mumbled weakly when you felt his cock twitch in you.

he looked at you, “w-what do you mean?”

“come… come inside me…” you repeated, tiredness lurking in your body.

“are you–holy fuck–are you sure?”

“please~ wanna feel your cum,” you whined.

that seemed to help. sangyeon let out a moan as his thrusts became erratic. he was desperate, and it all came crashing down as ropes of his cum filled you to the brim. sangyeon collapsed on your back, and your body crashed into the mattress. his sweaty body comforted you for some reason as you tried catching your breath.

he kissed your cheek over and over before pulling out of you gently. he rubbed your back, rolling off of you and kissing your shoulders and back as he made his way down to your ass, kissing it as well. he spread your ass cheeks, watching his cum leak out of your spent pussy, softly groaning at the sight. sangyeon knew if he looked any longer, he would pounce on you again like an animal in heat.

“you did so good for me,” he said, getting up to walk over to the bathroom in his room. he turned on the shower and walked back to you as you opened your eyes to look at him.

“you fucker… had a bathroom in your room the whole time,” you nagged.

“yeah. so what?”

“you…” you had no will in you to argue. sangyeon chuckled, walking up to you and picking you up as he took you to the shower.

“talk after. rest now.”

after the shower, sangyeon dressed you in pj's, comforted you with praises, and kissed you until you fell asleep. you and sangyeon lay in your bed as he washed his sheets; your arm rested on his chest, his around your waist. you had taken a small nap and woke up to sangyeon still lying awake. you looked up at him, walking your fingers up to poke his nose.

he looked down at you, smiling tiredly, “how was your nap?”

“good,” you croaked, breathing in his scent and cuddling back into him. this all felt right, but for an apparent reason, the lingering problem loomed around that day. yeah, you two just had sex, but the feeling was bearing on you. you couldn't take it.

the panic and feelings then settled in as you thought longer. it didn't go unnoticed by sangyeon as your arm loosened around him, and you looked up at him, slightly moving away from him.

“sangyeon?”

“mhm?” he asked, turning to face you, a concerned frown on his face.

“i’m sorry,” you said, sitting up and looking down at him. your chest started rising and falling quicker as your eyes brimmed with tears. “i’m... i’m so fucking sorry.”

“woah, woah, calm down,” he sat up beside you, grabbing one of your hands, rubbing your knuckles. “sorry for?”

“you know what i’m sorry for, yeon. i didn't want to break your heart, i didn't want to break up with you, i didn't want to do any of it. i tried my hardest to give up on you, but i couldn't. then seeing you with miyeon hurt so much. god, it fucking hurt,” you sobbed, your other hand holding the side of his face.

“i just want you to know how embedded to you i am. i don’t want to be with anyone but you lee sangyeon. i’ll admit i am fucking jealous of miyeon, i am. she's gorgeous, she’s been loyal to you, she’s picture perfect of what you should have in your life, and i’m not that, but i want to be so bad–"

“hey, stop that,” he sighed softly, interlocking your fingers. “baby, look at me.”

you looked at him, his eyes full of emotions yet again.

“why do you think i dated you in the first place? did you not hear my rant before i fucked you into next year?”

“alright now…” you responded wiping away some of your tears, but quickly putting your hand back on his cheek.

“i’m joking, but look, y/n, you said you don't want anyone but me? i don’t want anyone but you. i don't like miyeon. she's like a sister to me. you can't be replaced, ever. not to me, you can't.”

that only made you cry more. you’d cried more this past one year than in the past years of your life. his thumbs wiped your cheeks. he leaned up and kissed you again lovingly. he kept one of your hands in his, taking his other hand and grabbing the hand on his cheek. he wrapped them around his neck, pulling you closer and sighing into the kiss.

you pulled away, giving him one last kiss before putting one of your hands in his hair, tugging at it slightly. sangyeon bit his lip, masking a groan threatening to leave his mouth.

“don’t start something you aren’t willing to finish, baby,” he looked at you, kissing your cheeks.

“who said i didn’t want to finish?”

sangyeon grinned, laying you down, “i better not hear complaints.”

the following day sangyeon felt around in the bed, groaning when he didn’t feel you lying beside him. he threw the blanket off himself got out of bed, and walked out of the room. as he walked into the living room, he saw you cleaning up a bit, humming to the theme song of a show that was restarting a new episode.

he leaned on the wall, smiling softly as he watched you pick up several items strewn around the floor. all of it felt so domestic; it didn't even feel like the both of you were on a to-kill list. he watched as you popped up with a soft “oh?” holding a small item in your hand.

sangyeon got curious, walking up to you and wrapping his arms around your waist. you jumped, turning your head as you held up the usb flash drive, “what’s this?”

“oh yeah! i found it at that underground syndicate thing. it looked like one miyeon usually has. i thought she’d given it to sunwoo or hyunjae to download some shit from their files, so i was gonna give it back to her but forgot.”

“for real? do you think they have anything on it? like… should we check it out?” you asked, placing it between two of your fingers.

“i don't have my laptop. your little boss man told me to leave it, dumbass.”

“he told me to leave mine, too. you know what? not to get off topic, but since you brought him up, i’ve been meaning to ask you: what happened between you two?”

sangyeon moved from behind you, sighing softly as he sat on the couch. he pat the space beside him, and pulled you to sit with him.

“it's a long story…”

“i have time.”

“younghoon and i were friends, ever since high school i think. we both were always into action movies. he was my best friend, kind of… constant movie nights, constant life plans. we wanted to create an empire together,” sangyeon took slight pauses, rubbing his face.

“he said he would take on the business aspect of it, i would take on the physical, so right after college, we began an agency. i got us a building and jacob was also someone we knew from high school. we knew how good he was at working computers and shit, but neither i nor younghoon were.”

“you knew teenage jacob? you guys go back that much?”

“well not really all of high school: senior year. he came from canada, but both jacob and i got recruited to cre.ker agency. jacob didn't take the offer, and neither did i at first. younghoon constantly gaslit if we even considered it. ‘ you’re not even good enough to go.’, ‘all we created, you want to destroy it?’, ‘don’t be a dumbass.’. it was all targeted toward me and never jacob, but once i got tired of his nagging and told him about himself, he kicked me out.

so i took up the offer from cre.ker as soon as possible. turns out he told jacob something completely different, so i didn’t talk to either of them for a while until you came here. i met you in your rookie years, remember that miss ‘i transferred, i’m not a rookie’.”

“stop that.”

“it was so adorable, though, how you acted on our first mission. you were pretty cocky, but like it was still precious, and i kind of liked it.”

you covered your face, turning away from him, “oh my gosh…”

“i’m actually happy you came here, i wouldn't have talked to jacob any other way, honestly.”

“used me to get to jacob, how dare you?”

“jacob was such a cutie, needed to get close to him again.”

you turned to face him with a pout causing him to chuckle and kiss the pout off your face. you kissed back, pulling away and keeping the pout thinking, “younghoon told me lies then.”

“what did he say?”

“said that you left because you got a big head.”

“of course he did… that's why when you chose him over me, it felt like another slap in the face. it's why i got so mad that night.”

“i’m so sorry sangyeon.”

“baby, it’s okay. we’re back together now, right?”

“are you officially asking me out?” you grinned, leaning to him.

“can i be your boyfriend again?” he asked, leaning into you.

“mhm… can i be your girlfriend?”

“of course you can,” he responded, pecking your lips before thoroughly kissing you.

once you both pulled away from the kiss, your mind returned to before as you looked at your hand. “oh yeah, the hard drive.”

“what are we gonna do with it? we don't have a laptop.”

“ooh, i know! we can call kevin.”

“which one is kevin again?”

“how do i describe him? uh… short, black hair, skinny, doesn't go on missions, the other english speaker other than jacob and i,” you described as best as you could, but sangyeon shrugged.

“kevin… kevin…” he repeated, placing his hands on his hips.

“i’m calling him, maybe jacob too, just in case.”

you walked away from sangyeon and into the kitchen, dialing kevin’s number. sangyeon was too distracted trying to remember kevin to acknowledge you leaving as kevin answered.

“kevin!”

“hit list girl!”

“don’t.”

you told kevin about the hard drive you’d just found and asked if he could bring his laptop to check out what was on it. he obliged since he was the one to get leads and believed it could help him on his next lead since the group's last mission had deemed successful. kevin said he would be over with jacob in twenty, leaving you to silence in the kitchen.

“yeah! i still don’t remember a kevin!” sangyeon yelled at you from the living room, making you laugh.

it barely took them fifteen minutes to arrive at the doorstep. jacob instantly took off his shoes, walked in, and sat on the couch. “let's hurry this up, i’m sleepy!”

“nice to see you too, jacob…”

“oh yeah, hi, my sweet y/n. now let’s hurry.”

kevin walked in with his laptop as you closed the door behind him. he took off his shoes as well, walking in and sitting beside jacob. as soon as kevin sat down, sangyeon walked into the living room, still shirtless and his phone in hand. jacob’s eyes widened as he looked at the older man, kevin not paying attention as he sat up his laptop.

“hey hyung,” jacob said, waving. sangyeon stopped in his tracks, looking up at both kevin and jacob but then back at kevin.

“oh! kevin! yeah, i know him,” he said, looking over at you. sangyeon grinned and walked over, sitting beside jacob and patting his shoulder. “hey, boys!”

“hey… why are you shirtless?” jacob examined, still stunned. “are you trying to show off?”

sangyeon laughed, shaking his head as you spoke for him, “you guys came earlier than expected, even though i told him to put one on just in case,” you voiced, walking over to the couch and looking for an empty spot near the laptop, unfortunately, not finding one.

sangyeon held his hand out for you to grab, which you did. he pulled you on his lap, wrapped his arms around you, and peeked at kevin’s laptop to see if he was done.

“what the fuck?!” jacob yelled, eyes widening once again when you sat down. “what did i miss these past days?”

“uh… kevin, are you done?” you asked, ignoring jacob to look over at kevin’s laptop.

jacob looked behind you to whisper to sangyeon. “what the fuck?” he mouthed.

sangyeon caught jacob mouthing at him, smirking as he mouthed, “we’re dating.”

jacob’s mouth fell open, “eric’s never gonna believe this,” he said aloud.

“believe what?” you asked, handing the flash drive to kevin.

“oh. nothing…” jacob said as kevin typed away at the keyboard.

“well, that's weird,” kevin said, looking closer at his screen.

“what? what’d you find?” you asked, bending to look at the screen, your ass slightly visible as your shorts rode up a bit. sangyeon had to force his eyes away and regain control over his body so he didn't grab it or smack it or…

he blinked a few times, shaking himself out of whatever trance you had over him, looking over at the screen as kevin began explaining, “there's a bunch of documents on this and a ton of spreadsheets.”

“what's weird about that?” sangyeon asked, resting a hand on your thigh to lean closer.

“well, usually when you download things like spreadsheets and other documents onto a hard drive, the date should match the day it was opened and downloaded,” kevin began. “there’s no way for them not to have downloaded it without opening the document. if they were to download them the day of the first mission, the dates should match up, but they don't.”

“huh?” you questioned.

“it’s nerd talk. the dates on the hard drive are all different and wonky,” jacob said, the explanation not helping you or sangyeon at all.

kevin formed a tight line with his lips toward jacob, showing you all the folders tab (mainly just you and sangyeon), making sure to not open the documents before showing the two of you what he was talking about.

“look, the dates of these documents were from a week before the mission. the spreadsheets are almost two weeks prior. i can't say they're linked to the whole syndicate thing, but…” he screenshotted the document dates before looking back at the three of you. “we can look at them to find out.”

“wait, what leads did you get from their last mission?” you asked, curious.

“the last lead we got is that the main leader might not be working alone in leadership. like, i know that’s obvious, but we learned just how different the syndicate is from how it was before. we were thinking, like boss man said first day, there could be an inside man, you know like a plant, but we aren’t fully sure. i highly doubt it, every one has been working off the clock to solve this shit. i’ve never seen every one so busy before...”

“but the fucking mission, oh my gosh, it was a terrible mission. miyeon kept yelling at hyunjae because he lost a hard drive that had something she needed or something like that. it was so loud,” jacob said, rubbing his ears as if hearing it all over again.

“so i guess that is miyeon’s, then. sangyeon had said he’d seen miyeon with it before,” you said, pointing at it.

“do you think she had any missions on that from the past?” kevin asked in sangyeon’s direction.

“i’m not sure. i’ve only seen her with it for a week or two, i didn't even know she actually used it, i thought it was for show.”

you laughed, leaning back against sangyeon and crossing your arms, “you know if she was smart, she wouldn't need to–"

“ah ah…” sangyeon stopped you, patting your thigh. “she’s still my friend.”

jacob again looked at the two of you wide-eyed, noticing how you pouted and shut your mouth right away.

“here, let me open it real quick,” kevin said, double-clicking on one of the spreadsheets, looking through the spreadsheet, and scrolling through it. “hm.”

“what's up this time?” jacob questioned.

“she has a list of people's names in this, both companies. the people with threats have checks beside them…”

“maybe she's keeping tabs,” sangyeon said, giving her the benefit of the doubt. “she does that a lot, honestly.”

“i’m gonna take your word for it. by the way she talks, i wouldn't hold it against her, to be honest. anyway, as i was stating before, from the last mission, we got a few mixed signals we have yet decoded but were led to think he’s in talks with even more people outside of our knowledge, but again we’re not for sure,” kevin leans back on the couch, tapping on his arm.

“hm.. yeah, all that is weird,” jacob stated, talking as if he didn’t know all this information beforehand. he huffed a bit before looking at you. “so dating, huh?”

“what? how’d you?” you turned to look at sangyeon, who had started whistling as he looked around the room. his whistling came to a halt as he caught your eyes, his eyes forming crescents.

“hi baby, when did you get there?” he asked, drumming on your thigh.

“so much for waiting until we were in the clear.”

“when did we agree on that?”

“i came up with it this morning… silently… while you were asleep, but it doesn't matter!” you exclaimed.

“uh, it does to matter. you sly people got back together and are basically having a honeymoon already,” jacob said, throwing his hands up in the air. “what if i called eric? how do you think he’d react?”

“don’t call him. only you should know; well, and kevin, too, but other than that, i don't want anyone else to find out, please,” you poked out your bottom lip, clasping your hands together.

“yeah, if you told eric, i promise you antarctica would know within a few days,” sangyeon laughed, pulling you against his chest.

“i just thought, you know, as your friend, i would've at least got a heads up,” jacob said, crossing his arms.

“you saw how i acted when i found out i was sharing this house with him. how would i have given you a heads-up if i didn't even know it was going to happen? he made the first move!”

sangyeon nodded, raising his hand, “guilty.”

“wow, hyung, you didn't even tell me,” jacob said, offended.

“i’m sorry. next time, i’ll tell you when i’m trying to get her back.”

“uh, yeah, no. there won't be a next time,” you said, tilting your head in sangyeon’s direction. “right?”

“yes, ma'am.”

“wait, you two were dating?” kevin asked, standing up out of his seat.

after that talk with kevin and jacob, the rest of your week went on as usual, as normal as sangyeon allowed.

you cooked, then you swam in the cute pool they had out in the backyard, and you and sangyeon fucked in the hot tub that was beside the pool.

you and sangyeon made food together again; sangyeon fucked you on the kitchen counter after the food was done.

you washed up in the shower, and he didn't fuck you in there, but as soon as you came out, he couldn't keep his hands off you, so he fucked you in his bed again, right after he finished putting the fresh sheets on it.

sangyeon wasn’t lying when he said he was making up for that year of no contact. at this point, you were shocked he didn't fuck you in front of jacob and kevin; he was probably horny then too.

you knew he could go again if he wanted, and he for damn sure wanted to, but the talk with kevin and jacob still loomed in your mind from days ago.

“what do you think about what kevin said?” you asked sangyeon, his arm wrapped around you as your back was against his front. he was kissing your shoulder, up to your neck before responding.

“about us dating? i’m shocked he didn't realize it.”

you slapped his arm gently, shaking your head, “no, i’m talking about that hard drive stuff.”

“i’m not sure how to feel about it; it's weird, though, right?”

“it is. you don't think miyeon is a part of this, do you?”

“no! absolutely not.”

you shrugged, turning to look at him. “i’m just saying, you can't really count anyone out, i’m not trying to accuse your friend.”

“unfortunately, i know, i just don't wanna think about it. kevin said they have a mission in the morning, so we can see what they get this time. he took the hard drive, right?”

you nodded, scooting into him, sighing, “yeah, he said he’ll give it to miyeon, ask her what the documents are. he should get back to me tomorrow before their next mission. anyway, wanna make breakfast with me in the morning?”

“you really are treating this like a vacation,” he laughed, rubbing your back.

“this is the most i’ve gone without a mission in a year, i deserve this.”

“you deserve to be put on a hit list?”

“no, like, i mean, nevermind.”

sangyeon grinned, “but yes, i will make breakfast in the morning, and if you don't wake up before me, i’ll bring you breakfast.”

“you’re sounding like a husband right now.”

“i’m just giving you a glimpse of the future.”

you yawned, not saying anything but smiling tiredly to yourself.

the last thing you heard that night was sangyeon telling you goodnight.

in the middle of the night, you heard sangyeon tell you he would get water.

however, that morning, you didn’t feel sangyeon beside you. you got up, used the bathroom, and figured he was up like he said, making breakfast, but as you neared the kitchen, you didn't hear movement in there or smell anything.

as you walked in there further, your breath hitched when you saw the glass of water still on the counter; it was full.

cont.

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transman-badass · 2 years ago

Text

A Meeting at the Sow's Ear - a Cthulhu Mythos Short Story

"Evening to you, too, Mr. O'Tipp," I said and I felt the tightness of my words on my tongue. Nathan O'Tipp smiled wider. He looks like a fine man until he smiles. Looks like he should be wandering a Hollywood studio, him with his perfect fair skin and his nice suits. But when he smiles, it stretches too wide, and his eyes have got a shine to them that I've never seen anyone else have. Even when the darkness hides everything else, I see his eyes, almost the same shade as my own. No, there's not a drop of human or humanity in him. I hope he doesn't know I know. "Come out of the dark, Harbinger," he said. "Let me get a better look at you. You are such a treasure to me, I can't let anyone else break you."

Part of the Pharaoh Syndicate Investigations series - a reupload with some edits

CW: blood, discussions of homicide, Prohibition and all that implies, body horror, mild trans/homophobia early on,

Arkham, 1931

Overhead the stars walked the sky like restless strangers, and the fat moon lounged back and watched us all. But it’d missed the fun. Before sunset, I shot two people for the contents of a dirty old bag. Now I walked with that bag down the street to Dad's house. No idea who's Dad he is. He may give me an allowance, but he sure ain't no family of mine.

From five houses down I heard it, one of the favored songbirds singing like it was still 1926. Closer I got, the reason why I heard her became obvious - they’d opened half the windows on the Sow’s Ear. No point hiding it from the coppers anymore. The boss owned them too.

Part of the ‘contract’ with my old boss and the new one took my name. Like the new boss said, I didn't need it anymore. I liked that name. I chose that name. I still use it with one single person. But for everyone else, I'm the Harbinger. And that means I’m whoever the boss wants me to be.

He don't know about this, so don't let me catch you calling me shit like Gumshoe or Dick Dickless. I get enough of that bull from my coworkers. If you wanna call me anything, call me by my real name.

My name was Lazarus, once. I'm 23 years old, pretty sure. I was born a woman. Not long ago, I was an investigator at Keller and Queens Detective Agency. Now I serve a monster pretending to be human. I don't think he knows I know that. I hope he doesn’t know I know that.

There are two speakeasies in town, and until I got my new job, I'd never been to either of them. I was a good citizen once upon a time. One of the speakeasies is run by a cult. The other is a cult. I'll let you guess which one I go to. Only real difference is who's at the center of it anyway.

The Sow's Ear is the center of the boss's operations in a part of Arkham nice people like to forget about. Pretty sure he lives above it. So what? Times are hard. Not a bad place to live anyway. Cute little spot, two stories, looks like all the others in town. Customers come in through the back, employees in the front. Somebody put a sign up for the Women's Christian Temperance Movement by the front door years ago. Boss must've thought it was funny. Now it's as worn and dirty as everything else in the city.

Adds to the charm, I guess.

I got one solid knock in on the door before it cracked open, and two glaring eyes met my own.

"What's the password?" The man spat out.

This was the dumbest part of the whole thing. He knew who I was, and I knew who he was. But old Lyman didn't like me much, and he took every opportunity to try and screw me over.

With a huff, I let the words out.

"Kynyarle keh-urak ghottu."

No, I don't know what that means either.

Lyman stared at me. He pulled away from the door.

"Tell Mr. O'Tipp his dyke is back," he said to someone on the other side.

The door swung open. I caught a glimpse of Lyman's back vanishing into the bar. I ground my teeth. Some men take it real personal, when you don't stick between the lines. I told myself again, I'll get him back for all the shit he'd put me through.

But the bag.

I closed the door behind me, adjusted my sweaty grip on my cargo. The stairs sat right in front of the door. Up I went into the maw.

Always felt like the steps were gonna collapse under me, with how they creaked and groaned underfoot. I go up and down them least once a week, mostly more, but the old wood hated me like everybody else. Not a single fucking picture hung on the wall to distract me, either.

What I really hate? The fact it's on purpose. The fact the bastard didn't need any message sent saying I was here. The fact he had my footsteps memorized the very first day we met.

I won't let him get to me, I said to myself, I lied to myself.

At the top of the stairs he has a velvet curtain hiding his little home away from home. Expensive, purple, golden gild and soft under my tired hand. I lifted it aside and walked into the shadows waiting for me. Heard the music nice and loud now, a voice deep and sweet blessing my ears. Not from the hallway in front of me, that led to his office. It came from the right. From the balcony that overlooked the speakeasy below.

Two golden cats in the antique Egyptian style stood by on either side of the entry. Framing the view, more purple curtains, held back by golden chains. Between them, looking out over the dancing, thriving crowd… him.

As I watched him, me in the shadows and him in the light, he looked over his shoulder at me, and smiled.

"My personal investigator returns," he said. He folded his arms behind his back, took a step forward as he turned all the way to face me. "Once again you've cheated death, haven't you?"

I set my jaw, didn't look down where his eyes settled on my body. Didn't have time to wash out the blood before I headed here. Didn't want to tell him how much of that blood was mine.

"Evening to you, too, Mr. O'Tipp," I said and I felt the tightness of my words on my tongue.

Nathan O'Tipp smiled wider. He looks like a fine man until he smiles. Looks like he should be wandering a Hollywood studio, him with his perfect fair skin and his nice suits. But when he smiles, it stretches too wide, and his eyes have got a shine to them that I've never seen anyone else have. Even when the darkness hides everything else, I see his eyes, almost the same shade as my own. No, there's not a drop of human or humanity in him. I hope he doesn't know I know.

"Come out of the dark, Harbinger," he said. "Let me get a better look at you. You are such a treasure to me, I can't let anyone else break you."

I ground my teeth, but didn't hesitate. Oh, I knew from experience what happened if you hesitated. Over the music I heard my shoes click on the tile. I walked to him and watched his smile grow even wider.

"That's my boy," he said. His hand gestured to the view beyond his balcony. "What a lovely night, isn't it? Beautiful summer, with all her life and bounty, rejoicing in her brilliance as she has for centuries."

Over the railing, there lay a different world. A little softer, a little dimmer, the glitz and gems a touch tarnished, but still beautiful like the dresses on the ladies. People dancing and gambling and kissing and drinking, like the world wasn't dying slow beyond these walls.

God, the people, it caught me dead even in that moment. More shades of skin filled the room than I had ever seen before coming to this city. I thought I was more sophisticated than people wanted to believe, when I left that miserable place. Thought I'd impress people with how much I knew even if I was from Alabama. But nothing like this existed back there. The police would rather burn the whole place down with everyone inside than let white and black blend together. I guess I thought the whole country was like that, whether I liked it or not.

But Arkham was different. Arkham was… better. It sure taught me a lot of lessons. Biggest one is, I don't know as much as I think.

"It is lovely, sir," I said. At the sound of the last word, my grip tightened on the bag.

In the light his eyes did not quite shine but something dark and cruel glowed through his expression.

"I do love how you call me that," he said. He said, like I had any choice but to do so. "It's so much better than your previous defiance."

He must have seen how I fought the rage down, how my fists shook and trembled the bag. He must have, I saw it in the dark twist of his smile.

I wasn't just a detective back at the old agency. I was in charge of the entire investigation into O'Tipp and his tricks. I hunted him, and he hunted me. So many nights I spent on him, staking out his territory, talking to witnesses, finding the clues that could unlock whatever terrible dirty secrets he held.

And I lost. I didn't even know it was a game, that I was never a threat to him, that he was enjoying the hunt. I lost and he won, he won me and my sister, too. Now I'm gonna be working for this bastard for the rest of my life.

And I know, he's going to enjoy every second of it.

Mr. O'Tipp gestured with a finger, guiding me away from the view below. I watched the muscles of his face tighten with hunger or anticipation as he looked at the bag in my hand.

"How much did it cost?" He stepped into the shadows, his long fingers tracing the dangling chains on the wall.

I looked away from him. O'Tipp didn't mean cash.

"Two." I mumbled the word.

"Oh?" He glanced back at me.

Details. He wanted details. I forced myself to inhale.

"The first bled out, I think." I couldn't have saved the poor bastard even if I knew how. "Took a bullet to the chest." Took my bullet to the chest. "The other was guarding… It." Nausea curled inside my stomach. It. The thing in the bag. "I shot him in the back of the head. Like you told me to."

"Good boy," O'Tipp said, and the light cast a shadow on his face, like the skin were paper and the flesh were a mask. "Did you look into the bag?"

I closed my eyes. I couldn't force the memory down. How my fingers curled around the box-like shape within the burlap, only for my flesh to sink into something cold and beating like a pulse beneath them.

"No, sir," I said

"But you're sure it's the right thing?"

I did not open my eyes. I could not handle the thought of seeing the smile I heard. I could not help but think that if I opened my eyes, the face looking at me would not be human anymore.

"Very much so, sir."

"My dear Harbinger," O'Tipp said, "Where is your curiosity? Wouldn't you like to see what you've brought me?"

Now I opened my eyes, and they opened wider than I wanted them to.

"Definitely not, sir."

He stood in front of the door to his office, smiling at me. I looked at his eyes to fight the thought of too many teeth.

"A pity," O'Tipp said. "It would have been better for you if you'd been willing to… expand your knowledge of the world."

My stomach sank with understanding.

"But!" He beamed at me, like a father gazing proud at his offspring. "That makes it more fun for me. Come on then."

He opened the door. Numb, I followed.

A strange little otherworld, Nathan O'Tipp's office is. A little antique and ancient, a lot of books and papers. Globes on the shelves of bookcases stacked to the ceiling. Star charts papering the exposed walls. Nonsense maps full of nonsense places. The world beyond the window, hidden by the same curtains he used everywhere else, golden tacks pinning down the fabric so not a drop of sunlight could fall inside. Furniture in all types of wood, light, dark, painted, lacquered, raw.

His empty desk waited for us.

I don't even remember when he took the bag from me. He rested it on the desk, and the fabric sunk way, way down. The same boxy shape, thick as my wrist, and yet the fabric darkened around the edges of it, wet.

O'Tipp breathed in, and exhaled a light chuckle.

He raised a hand, looked at me. With care, he removed the glove from each finger, one at a time, and let it drop to the floor.

"Don't look away," he whispered, and I knew that was an order.

His hand rested on the flat surface of the bag, and sank down. The fabric and the thing beneath it shivered like disturbed water.

My throat locked up. I did not look away.

"Yes," O'Tipp said, eyes locked on the bag. "You’re the real thing, aren't you?" He nodded his head, looked up at me, and I saw it exposed bare to me, the disconnect between what I knew of reality, and what he knew of it.

"Don't," I mumbled.

"I've been waiting years to find this," he said. "And it came into my grasp so easily. I did not even need to negotiate with their god to do it." O'Tipp leaned over the desk towards me. "Dagon will be furious to know I have this. This sick creation, somewhere between science and witchcraft - the creation of a mind as brilliant as our own beloved Keziah Mason!"

"Please let me leave," I thought, I mumbled.

"You are a miracle worker, you know that, boy? You are, undoubtedly, my favorite curse upon this tiny planet. And this book?"

His wet fingers gripped the cord on the bag. With one pull, the bag opened, releasing a smell I've never forgotten.

"It’s mine now. Mine just as much as you and she are."

Without ceremony or care, O'Tipp snatched the bottom of the bag and upended it. Something green, or something black, something both and neither and iridescent tumbled down. It hit the wood with a crack like a breaking bone, the sick smack of flesh falling from a height it could not survive.

It gurgled like a drowning animal. Water, dark and grimy, bubbled from the open hole of the spine.

And the smell. That goddamn smell. Like the sea became as stagnant as still water. The copper rot of an untreated open wound. Seaweed and fish left dead in the sun and storm.

And my voice shook as I spoke, as I recognized the thing by its shape.

"A book?" I said. "That's it? It's a book?"

O'Tipp pulled his other glove off with his teeth and I could have imagined it but before he tossed it aside, I saw holes in the fabric. Barehanded, he ran his fingers over the cover, and it rippled under his touch.

"A grimoire," he said, stroking the dark, slick surface. "Written by a stranger in a land far more obscure than any on the surface." His smile, his smile, there was nothing I knew of sanity in that smile. He looked to me and his mouth stretched wider.

"Have you ever been to Innsmouth?" He said, and did not wait, because he already knew the answer. "Quaint town with too many secrets. It's up north from here. The whole place was claimed by a cult worshiping a god that lives in the sea, so they say, until the federal agents burned it all down. So they all say. So all you need to know right now.” He tilted his head, the smile staying still. “Look at you, you're so pale. Have you never seen a book before?"

I said nothing. He seemed to like that.

"If you care to believe me," he said, "this-" his fingers tapped the surface of the book, sending waves through the flesh. "Was made from the body of one of those cultists.” He chuckled at me. “Oh, please don't faint, you still have to walk home. Don't be upset." His voice lowered. "This isn't made from a human."

I shouldn't have said it, but I couldn't look away from it. From him.

"Then what is it made of?"

"A Deep One. Skin, cartilage, preserved flesh - no scales, did you notice?"

I shook my head. His expression dripped with sarcastic, amused pity.

"Don't worry, I'll spare you the bookbinding lesson. It's a gruesome thing, so I've heard. But I'll show you one more thing."

Please don't, I thought.

"It still drips with sea water, did you notice?" His hand traced over the lock. A flick of the fingers and without a key, it opened. "But look inside…"

I didn't want to. I did.

The pages, bone white, dark letters of a language I'd never seen before. Bone white pages. Bone dry pages.

"Fascinating, isn't it? What horrors lie in this book, do you think, in that language I have yet to teach you?”

O'Tipp slammed the book shut. I stumbled back, and he laughed.

"Go home, my precious detective," he said. "You've done a wonderful job today. No need to come in for a while. Keziah and I are going to be very busy with my new prize. Enjoy a break - I’ll find you when I need you.”

Despite the way my veins pounded, so loud in my ears I barely heard anything else, I answered him.

"I know, sir."

His gaze hungered.

"Good boy."

I did not head home quickly. In fact, I did not leave the building quickly. No, I'll tell you the truth: I did not even go down the stairs for a good long while. I stepped from the office, the air chilling on my colorless face, and swayed. My body hit the wall. Somehow I did not fall despite the tremble in my legs, the sickness in my gut.

My eyes closed. I welcomed the dark, my mind not again showing me the hideous thing, the hideous, handsome man I served. The black swallowed me and I breathed in the air, ghosts of tobacco and perfume and alcohol wafting up from the floor below.

Again I thought of myself less than four months before, my bright eyes in the mirror, my determination throbbing within my soul. Again I thought of myself back then, and I thought, what nightmare was I hunting?

The office door opened.

“Oh! You’re still here!” O’Tipp said. “I was afraid I’d have to track you down.”

I did not want to do it. I opened my eyes and shifted towards him. His beaming smile, so paternal, churned my stomach anew.

“I almost forgot,” he said, stepping towards me. “Your allowance.”

His gloveless hand gripped my wrist, his other shoved something into my palm. Damp hands, hands far too warm for this night, far too warm for what he’d been handling.

“You’ve done excellent work today, my boy.” O’Tipp patted my cheek. “I’m proud of you.”

I shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t have a choice but to speak.

“Thank you sir,” I whispered.

As his eyes narrowed and his smile darkened, I almost thought - I don’t know what I thought. But he said nothing more. He stepped away, his hand lingering on my skin, and that was the last thing I truly knew before his office door slammed shut.

I could have left then, when my legs recovered their strength. I could have fled, and run down the street, and never looked back. And yet within my disjointed soul, I understood something almost instinctive - I should not be alone right now, not after that.

My feet carried me to the balcony. I sat on the floor, and watched the people below.

To be part of society and yet apart from it. Yes, I knew that very well, as my cruel grandparents taught me, as I knew now as a different kind of man. A separation from humanity, a barrier put between me and anyone that could have, in another life, loved me. Yes, I understood that. Perhaps it helped me understand them.

How happy they all were, down there. How sweet the woman, a different one now, sang her songs of love and loss. How the people moved between tables, greeting friends. How they clinked their fancy drinks in fancier glasses together.

A sample of humanity, together. All those colors of clothes and hair and skin, together. Like the world beyond did not exist, like there was not an even bigger nightmare lurking at the edges of the horrors we all pretended not to think about.

A Deep One. A living thing that was not human. Something below the surface of the ocean waves. A god. A cult - another damned cult, of course there would be. Could I not escape them? A small amount of distance allowed me to think of it more. So long as I did not picture the book, I could wonder about it. What was a Deep One? What kind of a life did a thing like that have? Did it have a family? Did it have friends? Did it feel love, as humans did?

Was it still alive, even as a book?

In my soul, I ached. Not for the dead, but for me, taken from my home just as the book was.

My gaze drifted, my thoughts eased to a crawl. Down there, down on the floor, I saw him. I did not truly understand what I saw, but I did, I saw him, and he saw me. I let myself blink, focus, in time to see his lips curl into a smile. Dark skin, red clothes, sharp eyes.

He knew me. I knew him. No one else might understand. No one else could understand, I think, that little jolt of electricity that surged within me. That little taste of… hope, perhaps. He knew me, he knew of me, I knew him, knew of him. That brilliant man with his glittering grin. We were both born women. We were both skilled in our fields despite our ages. We were both connected to this nightmare in ways others could not understand.

I tilted my hat to him. He raised his glass to me.

As he disappeared into the crowd, I left.

The city struggled through the night, and the old blood had wrecked my vest. I buttoned up my jacket over it. I’d survived another mission, somehow, by that monster I am bound to serve. There’s a lot of ways to die in this town, and not all of them involve a bullet.

I was so tired of thinking about that. That money he gave me rested heavy in my pocket.

Little detour and then, to home I went. To the Witch House, where I’d lived since arriving in Arkham. O’Tipp bought it too, along with me. Sure enough, on that battered old porch, they waited for me. The old gate creaked as I shoved it open. A set of bright eyes behind round glasses looked up from the book she’d been reading aloud. Sadie, my partner in crime, my sister in soul, Sadie, jumped from her chair.

“Lazarus!” Her arms wrapped around me and I hugged her tight right back, and the grin that formed threatened to split my face in two. “You’re alright!”

Couldn’t help but laugh a little at that.

“Well, mostly,” I said.

On the porch, the other woman hadn’t moved, rocking back and forth in her chair. Her hands in her lap, her hair fallen past the bandages over her eyes, her focus all on me. She smiled, and I could taste the hope that radiated from her.

“I got a surprise for you guys,” I said, and reached into my pocket.

I can imagine what O’Tipp would say, spending so much of my allowance on candy like a child. But what did I care about his thoughts? It was more than a snack for my two favorite girls, it was an offering for their happiness. For my happiness. What was the point of going through this nightmare, if you couldn’t be happy every now and then?

Overhead the fat moon sat and watched it all. I settled into one of the chairs, let myself relax for the first time since the sun rose that morning. Soon, the others who lived in this ancient building would return, and we all could rest for the first time in hours. But underneath the sound of the summer night and my sister’s voice, I heard the pages turning.

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